# Breeding for.....Brains??



## PatchonGSD (Jun 27, 2012)

We hear talk about breeding for good health, hips and elbows, breeding for a good temperament, breeding for good drives, breeding to better the breed, etc, etc, etc, and we hear about those things a lot but what about breeding for a smart dog? We all know that GSD's are a smart breed in general, but does the intelligence of a particular dog ever factor in to breeding or breed worthiness?

I dont think that intelligence and willingness to learn are the same thing, and we all know that some dogs are capable of learning things that others just arent. 

So has intelligence alone ever made a dog breed worthy?


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## BlackthornGSD (Feb 25, 2010)

I try to select for trainability, of which intelligence is a large factor.

However, some of the smartest dogs I've known have been absolute misery to live with (opening any type of door, opening crates, turning crate latches, undoing seatbelts, etc.), so I don't know that selecting for highest intelligence is the best way to create a dog who is great to work and live with.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

BlackthornGSD said:


> However, some of the smartest dogs I've known have been absolute misery to live with (opening any type of door, opening crates, turning crate latches, undoing seatbelts, etc.), so I don't know that selecting for highest intelligence is the best way to create a dog who is great to work and live with.


Be careful what you wish for...... :rofl:


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

If intelligence alone made a dog breedworthy, my brother's smooth collie mix should have been bred (according to him). He was all sad that he altered her because she was the smartest dog he ever had. 

But really one aspect should never be the sole criteria on which a dog is bred, and that one perhaps more than any other, as it is very subjective. Yes, it is great to hear happy puppy owners telling you how smart their dog from you is, but it is kind of like kids, isn't it. We think those related kids that we know are so smart, and maybe they are smarter than average, but they may not be mensas. 

With kids you can compare test scores and figure in accomplishments. With dogs, raw intelligence does not really have a common gage. I mean, you can take a temperament test or obedience test to test temperament and trainability, but sometimes, the smartest dogs are not necessarily the easiest to train. 

I guess one of the reasons they often prefer labs to GSDs for seeing eye dogs is the labs will be trained to go from point A to point B, and will do exactly how he was trained to do that, where a shepherd might see a better way (in his opinion) and take it. Even the worlds dumbest dog, Pippy the English Setter, could be trained to do things, and it took him 7 years to figure out how to back up -- truly not the sharpest tool in the shed. My dad said he had 2 brain cells and they usually weren't working together.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

You could also have an intelligent dog with really bad hips. So, no.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I'd rather have biddability and sound stable nerves than an over the top IQ. As posted above, a thinking dog can be harder to deal with!
A dog that just goes with the flow, and is happy to comply is easier to train and live with than one that wants to rule the world or fix it. 
Natural instincts are more important to me(hunt, pack, prey, fight drive) As long as there is balance....intelligence is there.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Isn't the only true way to test for intelligence to trial/title anyways? Which tests your dog's knowledge of commands against other dogs? I mean...unless you're talking how long it took a dog to learn each command. But each time we get a new puppy owner on here bragging about how their dog learned x in this much time or y in this much time, I just think...yeah so? Mine did too...

I've never heard of a dumb GSD...I've heard of dumb owners that can't train a GSD lol.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

My oldest dog(non GSD) is by far the smartest dog I've ever had. She is smart like if you were to compare book smart to street smart...she is like a street smart dog with a mix of some book smarts. People laugh because for years I did everything to stay one step ahead of her. She opened doors, got out of her crate, etc. I watched her climb on top of her crate and unhook the hook on the door...why? Because she wanted to go down the hall to see my son. She has calmed down a lot now, but I can see her thinking I'm not sure if this was why she was returned 3 times to the shelter before I got her She was a challenge, but I love her:wub: and I will never have another dog like her. I also don't think I want another one, they can wear you out...mentally and physically


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

martemchik said:


> *Isn't the only true way to test for intelligence to trial/title anyways*? Which tests your dog's knowledge of commands against other dogs? I mean...unless you're talking how long it took a dog to learn each command. But each time we get a new puppy owner on here bragging about how their dog learned x in this much time or y in this much time, I just think...yeah so? Mine did too...
> 
> I've never heard of a dumb GSD...I've heard of dumb owners that can't train a GSD lol.


No, no, no, no. 

Intelligence is not trainability. 

My brother used to bring his step son over and he was so proud because when he brought he 5 year old over, and said SIT! He sat. Big deal. The kid did finish high school, I think. 

Intelligent dogs can be easy to train, or with little training will do what you want, because they know what you mean. But they are also dogs that can be the devil to train because they are bored and acting up. You have to stay ahead of them, or they will get ahead of you. 

They can make good trial dogs, but so can dogs with far less intelligence, as most of that is just repetition. Repetition and training does not show a dog's reasoning skills. 

When Cujo was a pup, new to my parents' home, he was afraid of my father (not without cause) and he wanted to get to me, and my dad was on the chair between him and me. The puppy could not get to me without going past Dad. So, he tried once or twice, and then stopped, turned and went through the dining room, kitchen, up the back stairs, down the hall, and down the front stairs to get to me -- that is thinking or reasoning, not training. 

Trialing tests training, and in some cases instincts, but not intelligence.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

See now we're getting into the street smart/school smart discussion. Your test of intelligence is highly subjective. I would consider a dog not smart if it doesn't listen to what its told to do. Others will call that dog intelligent for figuring out a way around the rules being laid out by its handler.

It's like calling someone smart who fails out of high school but you still consider them "smarter" than a college grad or someone more successful. Since this is something that is very subjective there isn't really a way of breeding it. Like you've stated...we can breed for instinct we can breed for "free thinking" but that's really something that you figure out about a dog as YOU spend a bunch of time with it. No way of really proving it to anyone else other than telling stories...and we can all tell stories about our dogs for days.

Btw...not saying that anyone that failed high school is automatically stupid, just stating that the fact that when such a person is considered smart it is usually hearsay by a person that has known them for their whole life, not something that was proven.


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

When I hear smart dogs, I think dogs that can go beyond the norm of training.

At around 4 minutes.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

martemchik said:


> See now we're getting into the street smart/school smart discussion. Your test of intelligence is highly subjective. *I would consider a dog not smart if it doesn't listen to what its told to do. Others will call that dog intelligent for figuring out a way around the rules being laid out by its handler*.
> 
> It's like calling someone smart who fails out of high school but you still consider them "smarter" than a college grad or someone more successful. Since this is something that is very subjective there isn't really a way of breeding it. Like you've stated...we can breed for instinct we can breed for "free thinking" but that's really something that you figure out about a dog as YOU spend a bunch of time with it. No way of really proving it to anyone else other than telling stories...and we can all tell stories about our dogs for days.
> 
> Btw...not saying that anyone that failed high school is automatically stupid, just stating that the fact that when such a person is considered smart it is usually hearsay by a person that has known them for their whole life, not something that was proven.


The story about Cujo, no one told him to do anything he wanted to get to me, but did not want to go past Dad who was half blocking the way too me. So he had to think of a way to get what he wanted and leave what he saw (me) and go all the way around, and up and down stairways, to get to me and still not go by Dad. 

He also has both Mom and Dad wrapped around his paw. They both think he has phenomenal intelligence. 

But then we all think our critters are exceptional, and that is precisely why we should not encourage breeding on intelligence alone.


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## Andaka (Jun 29, 2003)

I have been blessed with several incredible dogs in my lifetime. The first was when I was a child -- she was smart and intuitive. As an adult, I bred and raised, trained, and handled Keno to several of his championship points and all of his training titles. Keno was the kind of dog that you gave the book to, told him there would be a test in the morning and he would get an A+. He could get out of a car if he wanted to, and hunt me down at a dog show.

Keno sired Tag, who was a top show dog, and could do math. He could add, subtact, multiply, and divide. He could even do square roots.

Tag sired Jag, who came into my life at a time when an illness limits the energy I have to work with him. However he learns quickly, and enjoy our time spent training.

So I have been lucky.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I have had Arwen. I always claimed she was half-human. I could talk in conversations to her, and she knew exactly what I wanted. She was just awesome. 

Babs is scary smart too, but she would never get out of a car to hunt me down. But when I go for a walk with her, I can tell her, wherever we are, "ok, go to my car." and she will take off and wait for me at the back of my vehicle. She's the one that is really good at obedience, and I have her in and loose whenever contractors come over. I tell her to sit or down, and she watches them like a trained guard dog. She seems to know exactly what I want.


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## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

A smart GS to me is a dog that has good instinctive traits that accompany the breed. The ability to discern so that aggression is not a liability. Dogs use traits, and drives far more than intelligence. We mold or train those traits or drives into human intelligent actions. There is definitely intelligence in the breed, but its not something I would breed for.....that's not to say I wouldn't breed for certain levels of traits or drives that often showcases the dog as intelligent.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

I do breed for intelligence . I want to see the dog being able to problem solve , independantly , without handler assistance , a good trait for a herding dog left with responsibility and needing to survey the situation , sometimes figuring out what may happen, then take appropriate action for the best of results.
I had a dog that liked water play . When the hose was turned off he would grab the hose end , flick it around a few times . When nothing came out he would run to the house and bark at the tap where the hose was attached. He had seen me turn the water on so many times and figured out where it came from. Guide dogs are not dogs that obediently go from A to B. There is constant decision making -- avoiding hazards - intelligent disobedience . Intelligence is not trainability -- but does include the capacity to learn.


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## Jag (Jul 27, 2012)

martemchik said:


> See now we're getting into the street smart/school smart discussion. Your test of intelligence is highly subjective. I would consider a dog not smart if it doesn't listen to what its told to do. Others will call that dog intelligent for figuring out a way around the rules being laid out by its handler.
> 
> It's like calling someone smart who fails out of high school but you still consider them "smarter" than a college grad or someone more successful. Since this is something that is very subjective there isn't really a way of breeding it. Like you've stated...we can breed for instinct we can breed for "free thinking" but that's really something that you figure out about a dog as YOU spend a bunch of time with it. No way of really proving it to anyone else other than telling stories...and we can all tell stories about our dogs for days.
> 
> Btw...not saying that anyone that failed high school is automatically stupid, just stating that the fact that when such a person is considered smart it is usually hearsay by a person that has known them for their whole life, not something that was proven.


You're talking to someone who failed out/dropped out of high school. Our of boredom, rebellion... whatever. My IQ was quite high before I got sick. College was a breeze, as were my boards to get my RN.  Although, generally speaking, you're probably dead on. Just had to throw that one out there, LOL!


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## PatchonGSD (Jun 27, 2012)

carmspack said:


> I do breed for intelligence . I want to see the dog being able to problem solve , independantly , without handler assistance , a good trait for a herding dog left with responsibility and needing to survey the situation , sometimes figuring out what may happen, then take appropriate action for the best of results.
> I had a dog that liked water play . When the hose was turned off he would grab the hose end , flick it around a few times . When nothing came out he would run to the house and bark at the tap where the hose was attached. He had seen me turn the water on so many times and figured out where it came from. *Guide dogs are not dogs that obediently go from A to B. There is constant decision making -- avoiding hazards - intelligent disobedience . * Intelligence is not trainability -- but does include the capacity to learn.


That was my first thought, lol. I would think that being is a guide dog requires some of the highest intelligence there is given all the decisions that dog must make-some of which could be the difference between keeping the owner alive or getting them killed. 




> I do breed for intelligence . I want to see the dog being able to problem solve , independantly , without handler assistance , a good trait for a herding dog left with responsibility and needing to survey the situation , sometimes figuring out what may happen, then take appropriate action for the best of results.


This is what I was getting at. Doesnt every one want to breed for a dog capable of these things which requires a certain level of intelligence? How are these dogs selected for breeding?


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

I think what I've come to realize is that intelligence is something that you're asking for the breeder to evaluate...which isn't really objective but if you trust the breeder you will trust that they're breeding intelligent dogs. Speaking of herding...its more instinct than intelligence. Kind of what cliff was getting at...its a trait, its a drive, are there things that come up where a good dog will use some intelligence? Probably, but 95% of the time a good herding dog is acting purely on instincts.

With the other things we select for...conformation, drive, power, ect. You can actually objectively rank dogs against one another. Someone else can come and judge the dogs against each other and say dog 1 is better than dog 2. When it comes to intelligence you really can't do that. Everyone is going to have a different interpretation of what the dog is acting on depending on the test you're going to use. It will be so hard to tell the difference between each dog's intelligence level. Maybe tracking is the best tool to figure a dog's intelligence...they work pretty much independently and problem solve by themselves without any handler intervention...but even this can be up for discussion.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

GSDs are smart, but I think just as important as intelligence is biddability and trainability. Intelligence can definitely enhance trainability, but without a biddable nature, that intelligence can work against you. My Akbash dog was the smartest dog I've ever owned, but the breed is not known for being biddable. Trainable, yes, to a point--but his intelligence did not always work in my favor. Talk about an independent thinker--he learned how to open gates and doors, and could finagle his way through just about anything to get what he wanted. Thankfully, his desires were not malicious, mostly having to do with stealing eggs, chicken feed, and goat feed.

My GSDs seem to be able to *internalize* obedience to some extent. For example, I can contain my GSD with just a suggestion of a barrier. "Mom doesn't want me going past this, so I won't" seems to be her attitude. You could call that either smart or stupid, depending on how you look at it. My Akbash dog laughed at barriers, he was legendary for getting over/under/through anything I tried to fence off. Luckily, he did respect the 6 foot perimeter fence, but if a gate were left open, he'd happily go through it to wander the neighborhood. My GSD stops at an open gate as though there were an invisible fence, and will not come through unless I call her. 

Personally, I don't think we need to worry about breeding for brains in GSDs--the brains are already there, I think the important thing is selecting for those individuals who use their brainpower for good and not evil.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

There is instinct in herding, but there is also the willingness to work with the handler, and if the dog is trying to get the animals herded into a bunch then that could be total instinct, but if the handler wants them moved from here, to there, and kept out of the road and out of the crops, that might take some intelligence and training and biddibility as well.


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## Andaka (Jun 29, 2003)

Herding is as much about intelligence as it is instinct. Instinct will get a dog to focus on the sheep, but it takes intelligence to put the sheep where the handler wants them.

And my dogs did a lot more than just figure their way out of the van. Keno was also a group winning champion, had his Utility Dog title in obedience, his Open Agility title, and his Herding Started title on sheep. Breeder/Owner trained and handled. Also OFA hips, elbows, cardiac, and thyroid. Tag had over 100 Best of Breeds and 25 group placings along with his Companion Dog title (high in Trial) and his Rally Advanced Excellent 2 title. All Breeder/Owner trained and titled. Also OFA hips, elbows, cardiac, and thyroid. Jag I did not breed, but he has his Rally Excellent title, his Companion Dog and Graduate Novice titles, and one leg on his Companion Dog Excellent title. Also 2 points toward his AKC championship. Also OFA hips, elbows, cardiac, and thyroid. His biggest shortcoming is me.


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## Shakirw1 (24 d ago)

Couldn’t intelligence be associated with ZVV3? Example: the part of the test where the dog has to do things on its own in protection.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

This is an old thread but a worthwhile one.
Sabi was hands down the smartest dog I have ever owned. That did not translate to easy. She challenged me at every turn and made me think to stay ahead of her. She opened all sorts of doors and latches, figured out how to operate the power windows and locks on the patrol truck and was in general a royal PITA. But when it counted she used those smarts for good things. Bringing me a phone when I was in a life threatening situation, untying a knot to get to me when I was assaulted, etc. Also the only dog I have ever seen that figured out how to use mirrors to watch me in another room.
She was NOT breed worthy! Aside from oversized, she had crappy hips, developed DM and was ultimately a victim of that and cancer. 
She also had a bizarre coat, plush was an understatement, overall not great conformation and not super drives. Pigment was lacking as her tan neared silver for the most part. And she was sterile.
A better partner I could not have asked for, but not breeding quality.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

Most of these dogs are smarter than me already, why would I want them bred to be more intelligent?


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

WNGD said:


> Most of these dogs are smarter than me already, why would I want them bred to be more intelligent?


When I get Bear and Tinny and Eowyn back in their kennel every day, I usually remark to the puppy, "I'm still smarter than you, for a little while."


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## HollandN (Aug 12, 2020)

I don’t remember what is involved in a Zvv 3 but it’s a lot more than ipg 3 I was told not a lot of dogs achieve it so would think the dog would need to be intelligent plus a good trainer


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I put Babsy down a few years ago at almost 14. I should have never bred her. I bred her three times, once to Rushie who was not all WGSL, he was about half, and the litter was all over the place. I had two of the pups, Milla and Ninja, and never considered breeding them. And of the others, well only one person complained about their dog needing a lot of help with socialization because she was shy. I didn't hear anything terrible about the others. But it wasn't a litter I would repeat. I never bred Rush again. He was a great dog, smart, social, ended up a service dog for a judge who would visit/inspect nursing homes with him. Sad story, the judge got ill and Rushie stayed by his bed for 2 years until they carried him out for the last time. They he sat by the window for days. Then he started running around and upstairs and downstairs and went out of the yard a few times, kind of like a puppy they said, and they asked me to come and get him. I picked him up that day. He was 104 pounds. He usually weighed 80-85 with me. I took him to the vet and got his last set of shots. Then I called my contractor who lived with an elderly father. He knew Rushie. I asked him if he would want him. He said yes. I just didn't think it fair to be one of mine, I had over 20 regulars at the time, and he was used to having his own person. My contractor was soft spoken like the judge and it was a great match. 

But Babsy was really timid as a puppy. I started Jenna in classes at 10 weeks but held off until Babsy was 4 months. She did fine and I got a CD and an RA on her. I would only have to tell her once. In her RN title, the leash was somehow draped around her ear. You are not allowed to touch your dog or you NQ. I didn't know what to do. She went through the whole run and took 1st or 2nd that day, Rush might have taken 1st, but he didn't have the leash draped around his ear. But she was that good. On the three days she took 1st, 2nd, and 4th. The day we got fourth it was a different judge. And she knocked most of us off on the 1 step, 2 steps 3 steps. I thought I had a clean run, and I got a 90 with her and an 89 with Arwen. I actually waited and asked the judge. She told me my dogs were great, she loved my dogs, she wanted to get them a new handler. She told me what I did wrong, 1 step, 2 steps, 2 steps. Boogers. But it wasn't Babsy, it was me. Handler area was 10 points. Babs was perfect.  I shouldn't have bred her though.

She had two more litters with an imported male showline. Nice dog. She had 3 pups in the winter and the female came back to me. They said she was too afraid to go outside. She hadn't been outside at my house because it was too cold. When they started training her, the trainer said she was dominant and stubborn. She was neither of those things. She was fearful and afraid of doing the wrong thing, so she would shut down. She was fine with me, but died young. She had EPI, but I think she actually bloated. It was really sad. I never heard from the owners of the 2 boys. The final litter was a singleton, who was owned by the stud owner. When I had him he wanted to be with me all the time even if his dam was inside, he wanted to be out with me. I loved him. But his owner had some trouble with him, and they said he was dysplastic. I don't know if they sent it to the OFA or not. I am not overly concerned with that. Babs hips were good and Herko's passed as well, and sometimes that just happened. I did not hear that he needed surgery and folks will bend over backwards for a dog with good temperament. Babs' was fine for me. But most folks would not want her temperament. 

But she was smart. One day, she kept nudging me as I was on my computer. I don't have internet there, but I would play solitary and scrabble and monopoly on my computer at home in those days. She kept nudging me. Finally, I figured she had to go out, so I got up, huffing and bitching. She stopped next to the stove and looked up at it. I nearly walked into her. Then I saw that there was a small fire under the burner that I had left on. 

She was a great dog. I took her over to my nieces, and Analisa had trouble with reading because of a vision problem, so she didn't like it. But I would ask her if she would like to read to Babsy. I have pictures with the two little girls, about 4 or 5 years old and little. They would take turns handling the leash, and she was so careful with them. When we rode our bikes to the park, she would run alongside mine at my pedal, and sit when I stopped. I never trained her for it, but she would alert when she would find people back in the foilage at the building's parking lot when I worked there. I'd tell them to come out, and Babs and I would escort them to the road. She was once going along next to me and the cart I was dragging, and a big guy from the radio station, backed way up and asked if she would bite him. I said, "only if I tell her to." I was out walking with her in town, off lead, and I was just about to release her to Go To My Car, when I heard the slap of feet behind me and a police officer came running up behind, I just reached my hand and closed on her collar, she never flinched. He passed us by. She did not try to chase. 

Another time I had four little kids, my older nieces and my younger nieces in a stroller, so the older ones were about 5, and the younger ones 2 and 3. She proceeded us, and a suicidal squirrel came crossing the street, chattering at us. She finally started to go for it, and I called her to heel, and she immediately came to heel. She made me proud of her all the time. Her mother was Arwen, and I still think about her every day. I could trust her anywhere. I trained her to go to my car. Not sure if that was a good idea or not. As soon as I would say, "Ok" she was off and running for my car. And she would find my car. When I worked at my sister's building. I would say, "OK" and she would run up to the cars sniffing the back ends. People would gape at her, they thought she was sniffing for drugs. How fun! When I was training for her CD, I made the mistake of training her to drop when she would be coming to me. So she would hesitate waiting for the drop command. I had to train myself to look at her and smile and then call her, so she would come all the way in. She did not want to do the wrong thing. 

No one could ask for a better dog than my Babs. It near about killed me to put her down near Mother's Day. She would have been 14 in the beginning of August. And I had a lot of dogs, so, while Babs got more attention than some of the others, she did not get attention like folks who have but one or two dogs, except maybe the year she came to work with me. 

I did not breed anything out of her. Intelligence and even obedience is not the entire package. Temperament is number one and I think that intelligence and obedience in how trainable and biddable a dog is is all a part of temperament. But there is also how strong they are in nerve and that was what Babsy did lack. She did go up her leash at the man that lunged at me, with Jenna, and they turned him right around and back to the bar. But she was still a timid little thing. I knew. I just thought I could complement that by breeding her to a dog who was very correct in nerve. It just didn't work. So recently I chose to spay Uzi. She reminds me of Babsy so much, I love her to death, but I will never breed her. Intelligence is a big deal, but not the only thing.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Yeah, smart is not always a good thing...Star would open doors and even childproof latches. She learned how to let herself out of the house by pushing the handle on the storm door, and I am very lucky she didn't get hit by a car when she did that!

Yes, she was trainable, but there was this stubborn independent streak to her that made teaching certain things a PITA. When training for the BH, she always wanted to be out front when heeling. I never did get a very good heel out of her. Even when off leash, she HAD to be 10 to 20 feet in front of me, while Eska preferred to be at my side.

Even before she went deaf, her recall often depended on whether she WANTED to come or not. One day, she got out of the yard. I looked down the street, and there she was, trotting towards the very busy county road. I jumped in the car and went after her. Drove beside her, shouted her name. Was totally ignored. Parked the car, ran after her, shouting her name. Nada.

Majorly p.o'd by this time, I ran behind her and got close enough to grab her by the tail. And I didn't do it very gently... That stopped her, and I was able to leash her up and put her in the car! 🤣

Ranger, my male dog, was definitely the smartest dog I've ever owned. He was amazing! I rescued him from life on the end of an 8 foot chain. I'd recently lost my husband, and was about to lose my 14 year old GSD, Tasha, who had been with me throughout our entire marriage, so it was time to bring another dog into my life.

I have a serious hearing impairment. I first started wearing hearing aids in Grade 8, and over the years, my hearing continued to get worse until finally I needed a cochlear implant. I didn't really realize how bad it was until after my husband died. He'd been the one alerting me to the door, the phone and the alarm clock. I thought about getting a hearing ear dog from the Lion's club, but was told I'd have to get rid of any other dogs I had in the house. Um...riiiight! Ask me to cut off my left (dominant) hand, why don't you? 

Shortly after Ranger came home with me, I found out you could train your own dog to be your service dog, so I began giving Ranger some training. He was my 3rd GSD, so I already knew quite a bit about training.

The one thing I couldn't do myself was train him to alert to the door, so I hired a local trainer to help me out. He'd been an outdoor dog, so had no idea what a knock on the door or a doorbell meant. She knocked on the door and rang the bell, while I encouraged Ranger to bark and alert me by touching my hand.

It only took 15 minutes to get him responding appropriately. The trainer said, "Well, what else do you want to train him to do? You've paid me for a full hour, so we might as well make use of the time! How about the kitchen timer?"

We did two reps with the timer, then I said, "You know what? I use that timer once in a blue moon. Let's make sure he's proofed on the important stuff like the smoke alarm and alarm clock!"

Several months later, I was timing some fish I had in the oven. I had the timer beside me to make sure I could hear it. When it went off, Ranger came and nudged me. I looked at him in surprise. "I never trained you for this," I thought. "Maybe he's generalizing with other things that go beep..."

It took me awhile to remember those two brief repetitions with the trainer! Darn dog had a better memory than me! 

He also proved he could think for himself. Okay, some people may say this was just co-incidence, but I don't think so. Due to my interest in service dogs, I've heard too many similar stories.

After Ranger had finished his training, I took him to a conference with me. He did beautifully - remaining in a down-stay when I went to get food, and just being the perfect gentleman. When I decided to turn in for the night, I took him for a walk. There had recently been a bad ice storm in Toronto, and the sidewalk was terrible. Ranger also showed no interest in doing his business. After inching along for awhile I came to a small woods. There was snow on the ground in the woods, and the footing was much better. I also though maybe the tree trunks would encourage Ranger to lift his leg.

I took one step off the sidewalk, and my left leg plunged into a hole that had been hidden by the snow. My right arm swung around, jabbing me in the ribs and knocking the wind out of me. When I finally got my breath back, I realized I was in trouble. The hole was too deep to get out of on my own - my arms were too short to pull me up. It was below freezing, and there was no traffic on the road at this hour. I could be dead of hypothermia by morning.

Ranger came over to me, and sort of plastered himself against me. I'm sure he sensed my anxiety. I suddenly got an idea - what if he will stand still while I put my arms on his back, and use him to get out of the hole? I'd never trained him for this, but I had heard of people with mobility problems who trained their dogs to do exactly that.

Bingo! He stood like a rock as I rested my entire weight on his back, and pulled my leg free from the hole!


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