INTERESTING ARTICLE
FROM
HTTP://realgsd.info/GSDinfo/Training
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Elements of Temperament |
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Part One: 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 (GSD) fanciers and breeders. We talk all
the time about the importance of temperament. What are well 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.
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, like the Volhard
Puppy Temperament Test. This one is bad news, not only because the Volhards so completely mislabel various elements of
temperament, but because the test items themselves are
too stressful for many puppies. 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.
The Volhards
also developed the Puppy Aptitude Test which is something of an
improvement. The test is designed to identify those pups that have a
special talent for obedience. They don’t realize it, of course but
they’re actually testing a bit of prey drive.
The Volhard
stuff has really hung on. To this day, you’ll hear local park obedience
instructors diagnosing all aggression as “dominance”.
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.
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.
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NEW!!! |
