1. What Is Temperament?
"My dog has a wonderful temperament! . . . Except she really
hates strangers." "I just got the perfect stud male! His temperament
is the best, it's absolutely perfect: he has no defense drive in him
at all!" "Oh, I would never breed a dog that had prey drive, they're
vicious!"
Yes, all of these statement were actually made by real people. All
of them German Shepherd Dog fanciers and breeders. We talk all the time about the
importance of temperament. What are we all talking about? Are any of
us even talking about the same thing?
When we talk about temperament, we are referring to a collection of
drives, thresholds, traits and instincts that are inherited and
innate. Yes, it's true. Temperament is a function of genetics. It is
inherited, not developed. A dog's core temperament never changes.
Some behaviors can be modified through training, but the temperament
itself never changes. For example, a high energy dervish of a dog
isn't going to learn to be a laid back, low energy dog. But, the dog
can be taught to control his energy, to an extent.
Most dog owners absolutely refuse to believe this. If I only had a
dollar for every time someone has told me "It's all in how they're
raised!" . . . No, it's not. It's all in how their DNA came
together. A dog with foul temperament will always be a dog with foul
temperament, no matter how wonderful the environment. A dog with
sound, stable temperament will always be a sound, stable dog, even
in a lousy environment.
Good early handling, training and socialization will help develop
desirable traits in the dog, but those traits have to be there. Ball
drive is a good example, since it forms the foundation for so many
types of work. Some dogs aren't interested in chasing a ball. If the
dog does enjoy ball games, a good trainer can build that up and
bring it out to it's highest possible level, but the drive itself is
innate. One cannot install a drive.
Real GSD people are always seeking to produce sound working dogs. An
understanding of temperament is crucial to developing a breeding
program that makes sense and will preserve working abilities rather
than dump more pets into an already overcrowded world.
1.1. Temperament Testing
In the struggle to find good working prospects, the question of
utilizing various temperament tests comes up. In general, the
standardized tests can be of some value, but don't put too much
faith in them. Some are truly dreadful.
For instance, on the restraint tests, if the pup freezes in place,
this is labeled as "independence". Hardly. The dog is showing
avoidance behavior. Some of their test items are innocuous enough,
such as tests of social attraction in which you kneel and call the
pup to come to you. But, other items, designed to identify alleged
future dominant terrorists are traumatic for a weak nerved pup.
Don't be rolling over and pinning other people's puppies, please. At
best this test is misleading, at worst it subjects puppies to
needless stress for no good reason.
A far more useful test is the P.A.W.S. Working Dog Evaluation, by
Jona Decker which unabashedly tests prey drive. There is no perfect
test, some are more horrendous than others. Experienced trainers of
working dogs eventually come up with their own system for evaluating
pups and young adult prospects. The best predictor of temperament is
history. What are the pup's parents like? Their parents?
Grandparents? Keeping in mind that temperament is inherited, look to
the ancestors as your best source of information.
Also, keep in mind that puppies are not manufactured in a factory.
Just because a dog is a GSD does not mean that by definition, the
dog will be able to work. I get calls from dog owners all the time
who can't understand why their dogs aren't good watch dogs,
protection dogs, obedience dogs, whatever. One typical call was from
a man who had a six month old GSD puppy. He had purchased the pup
specifically to train in Personal Protection. He needed some help
with this because the pup is scared of strangers. Whenever he has a
visitor, the pup runs and hides.
Out on a walk, if approached by a stranger, the pup cowers and hides
behind his owner. He still honestly believes that all he needs is
the right trainer. I asked a few questions and discovered that the
pup was bred from AKC American showlines. The AKC imposes no
requirement of any type of working title being earned prior to
breeding. The pup's parents had never had protection training. Nor
had the pup's grandparents. There was nothing in this pup's pedigree
to suggest he would have what it takes for protection training. Yet,
the unscrupulous breeder was more than happy to take this guy's
money and tell him that his pups would make great protection dogs.
1.2. Early Handling
What then, is the impact of early handling, training and
socializing, if temperament is genetic? Why bother? To use a human
analogy, why can't all humans become Olympic athletes? Because not
all humans have the right genetic equipment. But, if you are blessed
with the right stuff, the right training can develop those innate
abilities to their highest level.
It's similar with dogs. For instance, a trainer purchased an 8 week
old GSD puppy who was completely kennel raised. She had minimal
human contact at the kennel, her only interactions being feeding and
cleaning times. Yet, at 8 weeks, this bitch pup was very interested
in and drawn toward humans. The trainer was hoping to train this pup
for Therapy work, so he chose to develop this aspect of the dog's
personality. Each time the pup approached a stranger in a friendly
manner, the trainer rewarded her lavishly. Not surprisingly, the pup
grew into an exceptionally outgoing, social dog. The raw genetic
material was there all along, what the trainer did was simply build
on what was already there.
Each dog has a personality, which is different than temperament.
Personality is developed through interaction with other living
creatures, primarily humans. Pups who are raised in enriched
environments tend to have well developed personalities, with maximum
emotional range and depth. Dogs who have been kenneled too much
often have a flatness to them, they lack the animation and
expression we like to see.
Thus, socialization and early handling really do count, not because
they can change temperament, but because a good handler can build on
the innate traits that are already there. And, socialization is part
of personality development. Good early handling will make a strong
dog even better and bring the weaker dog up to the extent to which
the dog is capable.
2. Drives
An obedience instructor who was getting interested in working dogs
went to evaluate two puppies from nice working lines. After looking
at the male and female pups, each separately, she declared the
female the better Schutzhund prospect because she had the right
drive. I went out and saw the same two pups, and came away with the
opposite opinion.
The little female was a dear pup, unusually attentive to the human
but only moderately interested in chasing a ball. She was somewhat
more interested in grabbing a rag. The male, on the other hand, was
a maniac for the ball or anything else that moved. When the ball
rolled out of sight, he hunted for it relentlessly. He was
everywhere, into everything.
The obedience instructor had mistaken the female pup's energy and
attentiveness for working drives. The male, however showed plenty of
prey drive as well as confidence in new situations. He would be
worth a second look as a possible Schutzhund prospect. A local
breeder proclaimed proudly that she just had to take back one of her
male pups, because he "has too much drive!" What did she mean by
that? The pup had been destructive in the house. Her interpretation
of the pup's shredding of the owners' belongings was that it was a
sign he had excellent drive.
A vet described her male GSD as being "very drivey". Did that mean
he loves to chase a ball? Well, no. Not really. She meant that he
has a great deal of energy. Once again, we have to wonder if any of
us are actually talking about the same thing. Among working dog
people, you will hear a lot of talk about drives. But, what are
they? What do they look like? Too often, the term is applied to
describe dogs who have high activity levels, but the activity is
scattered and unfocused. When we're looking for working dogs, we're
looking for high energy, of course, but also drives that can be
channeled and focused.
A drive is an internal mechanism that pushes the dog into taking
action. All dogs have certain basic drives. The only real difference
among dogs is a matter of degree. Think of each drive being on a
continuum. As a Real GSD enthusiast, the drives you will be
primarily concerned with are: rank, prey, defense and pack. Keep in
mind that each drive is tied to the survival of the animal. For
example, to survive in the wild, a dog must have the willingness and
ability to capture and kill prey. Drives are badly misunderstood,
too often with tragic results.
2.1. Rank Drive
This one should be familiar, it's the dominance vs submissive
question. Rank drive has to do with the dog's desire to improve his
social standing. A dog who is high in rank drive will attempt to
grab the highest position in the hierarchy. Again, you will see wide
variation among dogs. Some dogs will fight to the death to assume
the Alpha position as to the other dogs in the household, but be
completely respectful of humans and accept human leadership without
a fuss.
Some dogs will, however attempt to dominate humans. But, remember
it's always a matter of degree. There is a wide range here, from a
mildly rank driven dog who has a cocky attitude to a dog who won't
hesitate to come up leash and nail his handler. High rank drive dogs
can actually be fun to train because they are so self confident.
But, in it's extreme form, it's not a good trait for novice handlers
to seek out. When trained motivationally, sane high rank drive dogs
can be real stars in many types of work. They're smart and they like
showing off. Use that.
Another term you'll hear bandied about and often misused is
hardness. Breeders will advertise pups from parents with "super
hardness". The correct definition for the term hardness is
resilience. A hard dog is one who doesn't fall apart under stress.
Extreme handler hardness, while revered by many in the working dog
community makes for a difficult dog to handle safely.
An overly soft dog is one who will wilt at the slightest correction.
Novices are generally better off with a dog who has some degree of
hardness and won't be adversely affected by a poorly timed or overly
harsh correction. A soft dog will show avoidance behavior in
response to stress. Or, to confuse you, there are dogs who will
display defensive aggression in response to an over-correction.
2.2. Defense Drive
By far, this drive causes more confusion than any other. Defense
drive refers to the dog's instinct to defend himself. It is part of
the self preservation instinct. Thus, a complete absence of any
defense drive in the GSD would be faulty temperament. Though we
would expect to see very little defense drive in a Lab. That breed
isn't supposed to have a great deal of suspicion toward humans.
Whether this drive is problematic depends both on the strength of
the drive and the threshold at which the drive kicks in. We will
talk in depth about thresholds in the next section.
When a dog is in defense drive, he is displaying aggressive
behaviors. Barking, lunging, snapping, snarling and growling are
part of the constellation. The dog's hackles may be up. Understand
that the dog feels that he must fight for his life. A dog in defense
drive is under extreme stress. He may be feeling extremely
ambivalent, and you'll see ears swiveling back and forth, the dog
may bark and back up, then move forward again. This is why good
trainers never, ever introduce elements of defense into protection
training until the dog has sufficient emotional maturity and self
confidence to be able to manage his stress. Defensive behavior is
not fun for the dog. Unfortunately, it seems to be really fun for
far too many owners.
It's easy to understand why so many people mistake a defensive
display with genuine protection. Remember, the dog who is in defense
feels threatened. All of the lunging, snarling and other displays
have one common goal: to drive the threat back. That's why a
defensive display has such forwardness to it, the dog wants to push
the threat away. The best analogy I've heard so far was to compare
the dog in defense drive to a solitary wolf being confronted by a
grizzly bear . The lone wolf knows he cannot win this fight and
feels that he is not free to flee. So, he puts on a big show, hoping
to drive the bear off.
In fact, if the dog felt that flight was an option, he absolutely
would flee. It's very important that owners of defensive dogs
understand this. Too often, people incorrectly assume that the dog
won't bite unless he is cornered. That's not true. All that matters
is the dog's perception of the situation. If he feels that he cannot
escape because he is on lead or even because he could lose face, the
dog could very well bite. Is there anything positive about defense
drive? Yes!! It's essential for a good protection dog. Why? Because
defense drive is always accessible. It's not subject to exhaustion
or boredom. Defense is what puts the seriousness into protection
work. Again, it's all a matter of degree and threshold.
Assuming the dog has good, strong nerves and a reasonably high
threshold, a dog with strong defense drive can be a good working
dog. Keep in mind the next time someone tells you that his growling,
lunging dog is "protective", that protection, by it's very
definition requires the presence of a legitimate, identifiable
threat. If the dog is carrying on defensively toward a non
threatening person or object, that's not protection, that's a spook
dog.
2.3. Prey Drive
This is another misunderstood, yet essential drive. A GSD with low
prey drive is a crime against nature. Prey drive refers to the dog's
natural desire to chase, capture and kill prey. It is completely
natural and forms the foundation for a wide variety of dog jobs,
including Schutzhund, police K9, SAR, and many others.
Tragically, innumerable dogs are euthanized every year because no
one around understood the nature of prey drive. Humans often insist
that if the dog killed a cat or rabbit, he will move on to bigger
prey and start killing toddlers next, which is of course, nuts. High
prey drive dogs will not attack and kill humans unless there is some
other pathological dynamic at work or the dog lacks sound
discrimination abilities. That is, the dog must be able to tell the
difference between a gopher and a child. Most dogs can do this quite
easily, if given proper socialization in puppy hood.
A dog will not consider as a prey object any living creature to
which he is exposed in early puppy hood, ideally around the age of
3-5 weeks. This is why the job of the breeder is so important!
Breeders absolutely must have their pups exposed to babies and small
children. An under socialized, high prey drive dog can easily
mistake a crying baby for wounded prey. If you have a small animal
killing dog, you may wish to read Sadie's story in I Love My Dog,
But . . .
What's so great about prey drive, other than it's utility is that it
is such great fun for a dog. Prey and play are very closely related.
In other words, when a dog is in prey drive, he's having a pretty
good time. A high prey dog will chase balls forever and love it.
When you throw a ball, does your dog tear after it with great
enthusiasm? Good! If it rolls out of sight, does he continue to hunt
for it, relentlessly or does he give up and walk away? Those dogs
who will continue to hunt for their beloved tennis balls are showing
hunting instincts, which can often be channeled into work, such as
SAR.
Prey drive is also the foundation for good protection training.
Remember, unlike defense, prey work is fun. Prey driven dogs are not
growling and snarling. They may bark, but you'll hear a higher
pitched, playful kind of bark. What you're hearing is actually a
prey flushing bark. The dog is trying to stimulate the prey to get
moving so he can chase it. Look at the dog's body language. A dog
ready to bite the sleeve in prey mode is bouncy, not stressed. Their
ears are up, tails are up, they're excited about the game.
In Schutzhund, the bite sleeve ultimately becomes the prized prey
object. It's not until the dog is full of confidence and mentally
mature that the helper will begin to behave in a threatening manner
toward the dog, which is when defense is introduced. Prey drive
remains important, however because it provides a mechanism for
relieving the stress of defensive work. If the dog is getting too
stressed, the helper can switch gears and give the dog some fun
"prey bites" by changing his body language and movements.
Prey drive, as wonderful and useful as it is, however will not, in
and of itself make a true protection dog. A dog working only in prey
lacks seriousness. They also focus on equipment, rather than on the
agitator. The other problem with prey is that it is subject to
exhaustion and boredom. The dog may simply quit working if he's
being worked exclusively in prey. Defense drive, however is always
accessible. No dog is too tired to defend himself. It's defense that
adds the serious edge to the protection work.
There are many, many types of work in which prey is the foundation.
If the dog has good prey, you've got a built in means of motivating
and rewarding him in obedience and other activities. Just remember
that prey drive is a comfortable place for the dog to be. And, if
you encounter a trainer who wants to start a young or green dog in
defense drive, rather than prey, run!!!
2.4. Pack Drive
We know that dogs are highly social animals, just like their wolf
ancestors. They naturally want to be part of a group or pack. As
with all drives, dogs vary greatly as to degree of pack drive. A dog
who is independent and aloof even with his own family would be
considered to be low in pack drive. A more social dog who can't
stand to be left out of anything the humans are doing would be
higher in pack drive.
Extremes on either end do not make good working prospects. A dog
with very low pack drive isn't going to bond well with his human
partner and will be more difficult to motivate in training. Some
breeds are supposed to be independent and aloof. Most GSDs bond very
deeply to their handlers.
At the other extreme would be the dog who manifests separation
anxiety. This is a dog who, literally cannot be left alone. The poor
dog will fall apart and show vocalizations and destructive behavior
if the owner goes into another room and closes the door. Dogs with
this condition are not good prospects for any type of work. True
separation anxiety needs to be treated medically.
To some extent, degree of pack drive is a personal preference. Do
you like a dog who is especially attentive to you or one who is able
to amuse himself on his own? Until you get to the outer extreme, the
higher pack drive dog is easier to train in obedience than the more
aloof dog. Too much pack drive can be a handicap in other types of
work, however. Consider the dog sent to do an area search. This dog
must be willing to leave his handler, and stay in drive. The overly
dependent dog is going to become preoccupied with "where is my mom
(or dad)?!" and fall out of drive. This is also a function of
nerves, which we'll get to later.
A good amount of pack drive makes for a more trainable dog because
the dog's worst nightmare is displeasing you and getting kicked out
of the pack. More independent dogs tend to also be higher in rank
drive. The dog figures we're all here to please him, rather than the
other way around.
There are actually a number of other drives that all dogs have in
common. We've looked at those drives most crucial to success in
work. And those drives that separate the Real GSD from those other
dogs. And be aware that drives alone do not a Real GSD make. Good
drives are only useful when combined with the right thresholds and
strong nerves.
3. Clear In The Head
You will hear the term clear headed bounced around a lot in working
dog circles. Clear headedness is closely related to both thresholds
and nerves. A clear headed dog is a dog who doesn't panic easily
because he is in good contact with reality. He may have tons of
drive, but has a built in ability to cap his drive when the need
arises. If we had my Thunder out on the field being agitated, and he
was in full drive for a bite and you were to come up behind him and
pull his tail, Thunder wouldn't bite you. That's clear in the head.
He is under maximum pressure, but still able to recognize that you
are not the threat, the guy with the sleeve is the one to worry
about.
Compare this to the dog who goes into a frenzy when a stranger walks
down the street, or another dog goes by his window. His owner
approaches him and he bites her. What happened? The dog lost contact
with reality. He got agitated too much for his own tolerance level.
Unfortunately, this sort of thing is very common. (See Rudy's story
in I Love My Dog, But . . .). Some trainers will tell you this is
perfectly normal for a high drive dog. No it is not. The dog got too
stressed and lost contact with reality. That's one definition of
insanity. The dog is telling you laud and clear that his tolerance
for stress is inadequate. Biting the handler rather than the desired
object is called displacement aggression. A well balanced dog
doesn't lose his grip on reality that easily. This is not about
drives, it's about a threshold that is dangerously low.
4. Nerves
"Such shy animals are in all circumstances an encumbrance to their
owner, who must be ashamed of such a dog, and a disgrace to their
race. Under no circumstances whatever must they be used for
breeding, however noble and striking they may appear outwardly." Max
von Stephanitz, The German Shepherd Dog in Word and Picture (1925)
The essence of the German Shepherd Dog (GSD) is character. By far,
the worst possible temperament fault in the GSD is weak nerves.
Unfortunately, this problem is rampant. Von Stephanitz himself
warned us about this long ago. In fact, he told us that the
production of weak nerved dogs would be nothing less than the
degeneration or destruction of the breed.
As with everything else, look at nerves on a continuum. The degree
of nerve strength will vary across individual dogs. But, there is a
minimum that must be set. The breeding requirements under the German
system are set up to help ensure that dogs who fall below that
minimum standard are not used for breeding. Is it a perfect system?
Not at all, but it's the best one we've got.
What is a weak nerved dog? Simply put, a weak nerved dog shows
avoidance or aggressive behaviors in response to non-threatening
people, situations or objects. This includes the shy dogs and the
fear biters. Nothing is more difficult for a breeder or dog owner to
hear than that her dog has a nerve problem. People will go to great
lengths to bend reality around and deny the problem.
All the alarms should go off in your head when you hear a breeder
attempting to blame the environment for a dog's behavior. For
instance, the shy pup who cringes and skitters away from you when
you crouch down to pet her. I'll bet the breeder told you not to
worry, she's just a little shy and needs time to get to know you.
And I'll bet the breeder told you that is perfectly normal for a
puppy. Or the young adult dog who lunges and snaps at a neutral
stranger you see walking down the street and you decide it's because
the stranger was wearing a funny hat or that your dog is just
incredibly perceptive and recognized some evil trait in the stranger
from which she was bravely protecting you. (Actually, if your dog
did this only once or twice in a lifetime, I'd be inclined to buy
it).
A dog's reaction to neutral strangers is always significant. By
neutral, we mean the stranger walking down the street who pays no
attention to you or your dog. Does the dog ignore the stranger?
Fine. Some curiosity is well within normal range as well. Avoidance
or aggression are signals of a serious nerve problem.
Understand that nerve problems are not fixable. Skittering away from
a scary object or noise is not a training problem, it is a
temperament problem. With enough training, you could teach a dog to
inhibit his response to a particular stimulus, but you will not fix
the nerve problem. For example, you could teach a weak dog not to
run away from a moving wheelchair. But suppose the wheel chair user
dropped a book on the floor. You can be certain the dog would panic
all over again.
Training can, to an extent modify specific behaviors, but it cannot
change the dog's genetics. Weakness in temperament will always
resurface under stress. And it requires stress tests to weed weak
nerved dogs out of the gene pool. That is why Schutzhund remains the
breed suitability test of choice. The training itself provides
numerous opportunities to evaluate the dog's overall nerve strength.
Not only during the gunfire test or protection phase will the dog's
nerves be tested. How well does the dog focus and concentrate on the
track with a bunch of strangers around, in an unfamiliar location?
How does he handle his obedience routine in front of a large crowd
on a strange field with someone in the parking lot honking his horn?
There are plenty of opportunities for the dog to get rattled.
Not that Schutzhund is the perfect test, there are far too many weak
dogs being dragged through a title by talented trainers. But, it's
better than nothing! Too often, dogs are being used for breeding
without being tested for anything. In the US, breeding has become
entirely subjective, as in "I know what I like, so I'll breed it!"
It's astonishing how many GSD breeders there are who have no
understanding of nerves. They see their dogs, on their own turf
looking confident and assume that the dogs are just great. And puppy
buyers fall for this, too.
The typical scenario is, puppy buyer goes to breeder's home to see a
litter of pups. The buyer is presented with six adorable puppies,
all happily playing together. They look great. Unfortunately, this
is the worst possible scenario in which to choose a pup. All puppies
look more confident than they are on familiar territory, surrounded
by littermates and familiar humans! It's not until you've isolated
the pup from the littermates and human friends and preferably, taken
the pup to a yet unexplored area that you can even begin to see what
you've really got.
4.1. Sound Sensitivity
Sound sensitivity, that is a fearful reaction to loud noises is not
a synonym for weak nerves, but is generally a symptom of a lack of
overall nerve strength. Which is why the gunfire test remains a part
of Schutzhund. The ideal response to a sudden, loud noise is
indifference. However, it is possible to find cases of sound
sensitivity that are learned rather than genetic. For example, the
novice trainer who issues a harsh correction just as the gun is
being fired could induce a phobic response in a sensitive dog.
You'll be able to tell the difference, however, because if it is
learned behavior, it will be specific. As in the case of the dog who
had a bad experience in training which he came to associate with the
gunshot, if the dog shows a fear reaction only to that specific
noise, in that specific setting, the chances are that the behavior
was learned, rather than genetic. It will take a lot of work to
train this out, but it can be done, if the dog is generally sound
and stable. Dogs who are exposed to large amounts of live gunfire,
such as police dogs can develop phobic reactions which are genuinely
learned, not inherited. Again, you will know by the narrowness of
the reaction, the avoidance behavior will occur only in certain
circumstances. The dog who can easily ignore a car backfire or
firecrackers on the Fourth of July, but panics on the training field
may have learned a negative association.
4.2. Life With a Weak Nerved Dog
It's no picnic. Weak dogs are unpredictable. Combine weak nerves
with a high defense drive and low threshold and you have a genuinely
dangerous dog. Who knows what is going to set the dog off? Owners
are always stunned when their dogs show fear aggression. They find
all sorts of excuses for it, they especially like to define it as
"protection". The owner of a seven month old pup from who-knows-what
breeding contacted me about training for her pup. She had no prior
dog experience and was bent on breeding this male as soon as
possible. Nothing I said could talk her out of it. She believed she
had the world's best natural protection dog. Why? Because when
invited guests come to her home, the pup plasters himself next to
her, leans up against her and growls at them.
The reality is, the dog is a nervebag and should never be used for
breeding. It's easy to understand how this owner mistook her dog's
behavior for protection because she didn't understand what was
happening, from the dog's point of view. The dog is scared silly of
welcomed visitors. So, he glues himself to the owner. Her close
proximity gives him just enough confidence to vocalize his anxiety
by growling. I absolutely guarantee you, that if she wasn't there to
protect the pup, he'd be hiding under the furniture when guests
arrived. Nobody wants to hear this about their own beloved pet. But,
we all need to hear it, in hopes that these dogs will not be used
for breeding. This seven month old pup is exactly the kind of dog we
worry about most as he is likely to mature into an unpredictable
fear biter.
4.3. We Just Felt So Sorry For the Poor Thing
If I had a dollar for every time I heard that! Puppy buyers fall for
the shy, timid puppies. We feel sorry for them. The breeder feeds
right into our delusion that we can offer them a wonderful home and
then they will be just fine. Baby puppies often demonstrate their
weak nerves by acting shy. They show avoidance to anything
unfamiliar. Some pups will remain avoiders, others will mature into
fear aggression. Either way, they are risky business. Imagine a weak
nerved, low threshold dog being confronted by his first toddler
tantrum?
It's a little different for adults. Shyness in a pup is always cause
for alarm. Puppies should be into everything, curious about everyone
and pretty much a royal pain. As the pup matures, it's perfectly
normal for him to stop jumping all over everyone. Aloofness is not
the same as shyness. It is entirely correct for a mature GSD to be
reserved with strangers, showing neither avoidance nor aggression. A
certain suspicion of new people is also acceptable in the GSD. Far
too many breeders want their GSDs to welcome any and all onto their
property with tails wagging. They actually don't want GSDs, they
want Golden Retrievers wearing GSD uniforms.
Thus, we expect puppies to let their curiosity get the better of
them and investigate all strangers with enthusiasm. With maturity
comes suspicion, and some aloofness toward strangers is perfectly
acceptable and not a symptom of bad nerves.
4.4. Symptoms
What does signal bad nerves is avoidance of a non threatening human
or object or inappropriate aggression. Remember what a dog in
defense drive looks like? When you observe that behavior in the
absence of a legitimate, identifiable threat, you're looking at a
nerve bag. Nervous dogs are often very vocal, you'll hear a machine
gun bark or growling. By avoidance, we mean the dog will attempt to
get away from the imagined threat by physically moving away or
freezing in place. Rolling over is avoidance behavior you will
observe in extremely submissive dogs. Again, remember that there is
a range here. Some nerve problems are worse than others.
Watch out for growling! That is never good news. Confident dogs
don't growl at people or objects. Hackles up is another giveaway
that the dog is frightened. People are always telling me they've got
good watchdogs because every time the dog hears a noise, the dog
growls at puts his hackles up. They're dreaming. No matter how
impressive the display, you can never rely on a weak nerved dog for
protection. The only reason they haven't run and hid is because
you're right there. They can talk much tougher when mom or dad is
holding onto the leash.
Dogs are so much more confident on their own turf that a lot of
nerve problems get covered up. Imagine the purchaser of an adult dog
going to see the dog. The seller may even put on a sleeve and give
the dog a few bites, to really impress the purchaser. Be forewarned:
playing sleeve tag with his owner on his own property is not a
stress test! It tells you nothing. Get that same dog out on a
strange field, with his owner out of sight and see what happens.
4.5. But We Only Wanted A Nice Pet!
The best pets come from breeders who breed strictly to the SV
standard. In the best of breeding, not every pup is going to have
the same amount of drive and some will be placed in pet homes.
You're chances of getting a sound dog are far better by seeking out
a real GSD breeder. Even if your only goal is to have a companion
dog, you still need good nerves! A nervous, high strung spook dog
makes a lousy companion. Imagine having to lock up your dog every
time company comes over? Or a dog you can't trust with children? How
about a dog you can't even obedience train reliably because the dog
is too busy freaking out every time you leave your own property? Do
not fall for big promises from pet breeders. If their dogs truly are
stable, sound, trainable and protective, let them prove it on the
field.
4.6. But, My Dogs Do Work!
A few notches up from the breed-for-pets crowd, there are breeders
who resist the standard and argue that since their dogs do some
other type of work, they are suitable for breeding. SAR, detection,
K9, agility, obedience, assistance and other dog jobs are wonderful
and we would expect GSDs to excel in these areas. But, they do not
sufficiently stress test the dogs. Herding, under the German system
is the only exception, as herding dogs are expected to demonstrate
protection abilities and courage. Thus, the HGH can be used in place
of a Schutzhund title. Do not confuse German style herding with AKC
herding. The other problem with relying on some other type of work
is that the plan lacks consistently. For example, suppose the
breeder has a working SAR dog who has demonstrated courage and
confidence in training situations. That's good. But, what evidence
to we have that the dog can reproduce those traits in his offspring?
How would we test that dog's courage, hardness and fighting
instinct?
It gets really ridiculous when breeders decide it's okay to
substitute an AKC obedience title for a Schutzhund title, breed
survey, conformation rating and endurance test.
Also, keep in mind that not all nerve problems manifest as plainly
as the dog who shies away from a strange object or puts his hackles
up and barks at it. Nerve weaknesses can be very subtle, which
supports the value of a balanced breed suitability test. Consider
the drug detection dog who falls out of a search when her handler
gets too far away from her. A lack of drive? Could be. But it could
also be a nerve problem if the dog is falling out of drive due to
her anxiety when her handler isn't close.
This is why so many dogs are washed out of law enforcement, not only
for patrol work, but even for detection. Think a drug detection dog
doesn't need strong nerves? Oh yeah? A weak nerved dog is not about
to go away from his handler into a strange warehouse with noisy
machines to look for drugs. This is the wrong time to find out that
the dog's nerves aren't as great as the breeder claimed.
4.7. Finding the Good Ones
The puppy buyer can avoid a lot of heartache by only considering
pups from Real GSD breeders. The ones who breed to the SV standard
and understand what nerve strength looks like. The breeders who are
willing to stress test their breeding stock and accept an objective
evaluation, even when it hurts.
A dog with good nerve strength is a joy. He can be trusted with
children. He is never a bully, he's got nothing to prove because he
knows he can handle any situation that should arise. And only a well
bred dog with solid nerves is the dog you can rely upon to keep you
safe.
