# At what age can you "tell"



## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

Question for experienced breeders and trainers of GSDs.

I am sorry if I word this crappy. I am wondering at what age can you tell what is "at a dog's core." I have seen people say, "a great GSD, with solid nerves may not show it until they mature...sometimes 2/3 years." I have also heard that you can tell right away (3-7 months old), what kind of "toughness, nerve, stability, etc." that a dog has at their core. 

So to people who work and train lots of this breed. If YOU were going to get a puppy, assuming you went to a breeder that has the lines/experience/knowledge that you want in a breeder, what would you want your puppy to "show" you at under a year? Is there much, if anything, that would concern you if your not-yet-to-maturity-puppy exhibited it? Do you have some if *any* "expectations" from an immature dog? Obviously you don't want to back-tie it at 8 months old and have a decoy charge it with sleeve and whip....just curious what you "hope to see" and/or "expect to see" in a "well-bred" dog in the sport/working arenas as well as the "pet/home" arenas.....in my opinion, in a perfect world, the GSD would be able to be in both arenas....and fit the "Standard" when it comes to temperament and utility. 

I would love all opinions, especially from those that are experienced in breeding/working.....Wolfstraum, Chris Wild, Cliffson, Loucastle, Carm, myco, and there are many many more....thanks in advance and sorry if my questions are all over the place and mish mashy....just trying to learn a little, and see what the "experienced" people look for in their own dogs.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i'm not a breeder or a trainer. my dogs are well trained, highly socialized, go
everywhere dogs. when it comes to toughness, nerves, health, stability and 
temperament i never worry about those things. a reputable breeder takes care 
of those things. i have the easy part when it comes to having a pup. all i have to
do is pick a color, gender, train and socialize.


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## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

Doggiedad,

Have you ever had a "problem dog?" Ie, one that didn't come from a "reputable breeder" and had temperamental things wrong with it? If so, at what age did you notice the problems? If you haven't had a dog with problems then disregard my question.

I think *most of us start out with a not-so-well-bred-dog...come on here for advice about said dog, and then learn what it is we should have done/known, and when it's time for #2 will do things very differently. However, some have said that every now and then you can get a solid-nerved-dog, out of a byb. Curious if there are any traits, early on, that makes one able to tell that.


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## Rbeckett (Jun 19, 2013)

I am a firm believer that all dogs posses a certain "spark" and it is up to the individual owner to discover what it is and to exploit it from there. I also believe that the same dog will react differently in a different living situation dependant on the particular owners desires. With that said I believe that with few exceptions a dog can easily be trained to do whatever the owner wishes within reason. So it means that an owner must work closely with his or her dog and develop a bond that is as thick as blood and the dog will literally perform or die trying. All of my dogs have been trained this way over the years and they have been well socialized, friendly and alert while still maintaining the security of their particular realms. Our rottie would be so glad to see you and play for hours, but would not allow you to leave till one of us escorted you to the door. No escort got you a low growl, and pulled back lips while occupying the space in front of the door. That was her way of enforcing that nobody ever took anything from the house without us knowing. This behavior was totally untrained and learned from other dogs in the pack who passed on the house rules and manners that were expected within our pack. 

Wheelchair Bob


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## Jaders (Jul 8, 2012)

Rbeckett said:


> I am a firm believer that all dogs posses a certain "spark" and it is up to the individual owner to discover what it is and to exploit it from there. I also believe that the same dog will react differently in a different living situation dependant on the particular owners desires. With that said I believe that with few exceptions a dog can easily be trained to do whatever the owner wishes within reason. So it means that an owner must work closely with his or her dog and develop a bond that is as thick as blood and the dog will literally perform or die trying.


I agree with this - also the owner must mold themselves to the dog ( like dogs who weren't raised by you ). Since Gunner was adopted, I had to mold myself to him and how he excels in certain things. When raising your own puppy, you influence them in certain ways. 




Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

Rbeckett and Jaders,

Thank you so much for your thoughts. I guess I am looking more for a disposition/stability on a genetic/core level. I have always had byb dogs growing up, that didn't come with stable nerves(skiddish, fearful, and one that was pretty reactive). I also realize that there is lots of training/lifestyle changes that can bring these dogs away from the fear and make them more manageable. I believe that you can "mask" that fear/instability with obedience and rehabilitation, but I also think, for the most part, it is always there, and there are certain environmental situations that the dog can't handle.

I think I should have used the term "nerves" more in my OP. I am more interested in when/if you can tell early on that a dog is stable/confident on a "core" level. And while it will require training/obedience etc...I am talking about a dog that doesn't come with problems built into it's core/genes.


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## KristiM (Oct 18, 2011)

I didn't really see Odin's greatness until he was 2. He always had nice deep grips and was never a fly off the handle type of puppy or adolescent. But he was always just a gawky awkward puppy you know? He seemed to sit back and watch the world until he was about two. Once he turned two, I kind of realized i have a dog that I can trust under any circumstances and is an amazing worker and incredible team mate in whatever sport or recreational activity I do with him. Now at 4, he continues to amaze with just what an all around awesome dog he is. 

I really underestimated him as a youngster, I don't think I will make that mistake again.


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## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

Rbeckett said:


> I am a firm believer that all dogs posses a certain "spark" and it is up to the individual owner to discover what it is and to exploit it from there. I also believe that the same dog will react differently in a different living situation dependant on the particular owners desires. With that said I believe that with few exceptions a dog can easily be trained to do whatever the owner wishes within reason. So it means that an owner must work closely with his or her dog and develop a bond that is as thick as blood and the dog will literally perform or die trying. All of my dogs have been trained this way over the years and they have been well socialized, friendly and alert while still maintaining the security of their particular realms. *Our rottie would be so glad to see you and play for hours, but would not allow you to leave till one of us escorted you to the door. No escort got you a low growl, and pulled back lips while occupying the space in front of the door. That was her way of enforcing that nobody ever took anything from the house without us knowing. This behavior was totally untrained and learned from other dogs in the pack who passed on the house rules and manners that were expected within our pack. *
> 
> Wheelchair Bob


I understand that most dogs can be "trained" to do lots of things. But I am curious about a dog being able to "handle" the unexpected, via a calm/confident/balanced core. Sure most dogs can be "trained" but *most shepherds/dogs can't be working LE dogs, perform well in SchH, be a SAR dog, etc....I am curious to hear from the people in those arenas, and what they "expect," if anything, out of an immature dog, bred for or being trained in those fields. Are there things they *want to see in an immature dog and/or things they don't want to see in an immature dog being trained/bred for those fields. A dog being well-socialized, loving people, playful, etc...doesn't hold a lot of weight in proving it's stability. I think it contributes to it, but I have seen plenty of "friendly" dogs, that can quickly become reactive and fear aggressive if startled or faced with the unknown. I would expect and hope that a dog with a balanced/clear/stable head, could do all these stressful things (LE, SchH, SAR, protection, etc) as well as calm/balanced in a home, with a family, and children as a "pet".....is that expecting too much? Maybe....but some of the well-known members on here with dogs in all these areas also "expect" them to be good pets in the home....so I don't know....

And I guess I don't understand the bolded example. This sounds like un-necessary resource guarding??....that you expect out of your dogs? Of course you (general you) can train your dog to do anything you want it to....but I would be very wary and probably never return to a home with a rottie or other large dog that exhibits and is encouraged to perform these behaviors, and it doesn't *sound like a stable, balanced, dog to me....although I could be wrong, and maybe more experienced people will chime in....again, not sure how that was an example of a balanced/stable dog or had anything to do with the original question.....I am not meaning to sound snotty, just confused by this example and the point you were trying to make with it.


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## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

I am in total opposition to those two posts, but I respect their opinion. I usually can tell at 3 to 7 months, if the dog is confident, resilient, worthy of breed standard in temperament. Now depending on your end goal for the dog, things will vary as they grow up and with good ownership. If your goal is to have a nice pet, then what was written earlier may be right,IMO, but if your expectation is breed standard being capable of guardian, protector, and confident, able to handle many tasks, then bond and training often isn't enough to overcome poor genetics, but that is also detectable at 3to 7 months in most cases. ( I will preface this by saying I am speaking about most cases, there are always some isolated example of somebody having a reluctant shy dog and a change of environment or ownership turned the dog into something different....but most dogs are what they are to the practiced eye at this age.


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## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

Kristi,

Did you get him originally planning on doing all the training and things you've done with him? Sometimes I wonder if people do underestimate their dogs because of behaviors that are really due to a lack of experience and maturity. I also think there is the other type of people, who "explain away" a behavior, saying it's just a "puppy thing" when in reality it is result of a shaky core. Is there a way to tell the difference? Maybe, maybe not.

Personally, I'd rather be pleasantly surprised, like you, than putting my dogs into situations I think they should be able to handle, when they've given me signals all along that they can't. It's those "signals" and "signs" I am curious about.....are there any? And if so, what are they? And when are they signals of age/maturity vs nervy/unbalanced/unclear.....maybe only time will tell though....


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## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

cliffson1 said:


> I am in total opposition to those two posts, but I respect their opinion. I usually can tell at 3 to 7 months, if the dog is confident, resilient, worthy of breed standard in temperament. Now depending on your end goal for the dog, things will vary as they grow up and with good ownership. If your goal is to have a nice pet, then what was written earlier may be right,IMO, but if *your expectation is breed standard being capable of guardian, protector, and confident, able to handle many tasks*, then bond and training often isn't enough to overcome poor genetics, but that is also detectable at 3to 7 months in most cases. ( I will preface this by saying I am speaking about most cases, there are always some isolated example of somebody having a reluctant shy dog and a change of environment or ownership turned the dog into something different....but most dogs are what they are to the practiced eye at this age.


Cliff,

First thanks so much for responding, as I respect the opinion that education and experience has given you.

I am curious. If you are evaluating a young dog (temperament), is there anything in particular, that would cause you to tell the owner they should not expect the bolded above? In other words, what are "okay" puppy fears/behaviors, and what(if any) behaviors, would cause you to question and doubt the pup ever fitting the above bolded description? I know this is a very general question, and there may be too many variables to give brush stroke examples....just curious if there are certain behaviors that tend to re-occur as good indicators of what the dog will eventually become....or won't become. And then the same questions, but indicators of fitting the bolded sentence above.

I would love experienced people to respond, because I think a lot of "new" GSD owners(myself included until I joined this forum lol), or uneducated GSD owners, have these terribly high expectations of their dogs, and are mis-interpreting their dog's behaviors as fitting into your above statement, when in reality, they are possibly saying the opposite. Maybe this thread, if a lot of experienced members chime in their thoughts, will serve those who are trying to discern what their dog is "telling them." Maybe not, though.


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## KristiM (Oct 18, 2011)

Don't get me wrong Odin was never shy or reluctant, he never showed any insecure behaviours of any kind. He was just kind of "flat" he just sort of watched the world go by. I really think that I just had too high of expectations. I got him thinking he would be a hiking buddy and pet. As soon as I got him though I started to do IPO and later got involved in agility and flyball. 

This is an awesome article about slow to mature sport puppies that basically hits the nail on the head. I really wish I had read this when Odin was a baby. 

Sleepy Puppies | Denise Fenzi


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## Packen (Sep 14, 2008)

At 7-8 weeks old through observation and test you can tell what you got temperamentally. Dogs don't change. What you do not know at this age is possible future health issues or allergies that can creep up.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I saw a WL pup(7 weeks old) last week that had really nice prey drive, grips were good, he didn't let go whatsoever, didn't stop after several minutes of play. Acted very confident, came right out and engaged.
Trainer thought the pup would make a good sport prospect with that show of play. 
I then went out into the field and called the puppy "pup, pup, pup" from the handler. She'd only had him a few days, (11 pups in the litter and he was one of the last to go) Puppy ran towards me and then before he got to me, a few of the dogs in vehicles up in the parking lot started barking as someone pulled in. 
Pup ran to me, whimpering and cowered a bit, hiding himself next to me. I didn't show any body language that was threatening, was sideways and playfully on the ground....very neutral. I didn't console pup, but got up and moved away while the handler called him to her. Puppy wouldn't engage with the handler when she called to him, he went to a shade spot and laid down. 
There was much unknown about the dam lines(we know the sire), so we all discussed what we just saw. Very good prey drive, but pack drive was not really high. We didn't know how the pup was raised or the pedigree. 
This dog was placed with the handler for her husband to work/ sell or pet home, depending on his temperament.

There are so many variables in what you see when you don't have the whole picture, Red flags are waving, but not knowing certain things play into it. I hate seeing puppies just placed because they are the last in the litter or whatever. 
And not even knowing the pedigree or asking about it, I don't get it! Some people don't really think or care about that, but for me, it would make it so much easier to understand the dog in front of me and how to work with those genetics.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I've always wondered this to. I got my female at about 12 weeks and she really hasn't changed that much. She is now maturing and I cherish the days that she gets into play mode, today she decided that the broom was a toy and was pouncing on it...exactly what she would have done as a puppy. My male has a really good temperament, it was that temperament that got him out of the shelter. He hasn't had any formal training yet..that is coming soon, but he is picking up on the basic stuff just great. He now knows to wait at the door, sit to get leashed, wait in car, and most importantly that the cats aren't a snack My new neighbors family raised GSD's when he was younger and he loves Midnite, he says that his temperament is perfect and what it should be. He is going to be a perfect dog once he matures, but I've gotten used to his rough and tough play and I feel very safe with him. Both are very stable, confident, ready to take on anything and succeed at it, and they are alert, but in a very quiet way. Its very eery and I wouldn't feel comfortable if I was walking by and had them focused on me


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## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

Packen said:


> At 7-8 weeks old through observation and test you can tell what you got temperamentally. Dogs don't change. What you do not know at this age is possible future health issues or allergies that can creep up.


Obviously the observation would have to be done by an experienced, knowledgeable individual, but what tests are you talking about? My friend who runs a K9 police academy has three short tests she does initially with every dog before she takes them on for further testing. I emailed her, I can only remember the search one. They take the dog and show it a ball, throw it, turn the dog, retrieve the ball, and then send the dog and they like to see the dog search for at least a minute and a half. I'll list the other two when I hear back from her. But these are tests for older dogs (10-16 months). I am curious what the tests are for 7-8 week olds.


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

KristiM said:


> Don't get me wrong Odin was never shy or reluctant, he never showed any insecure behaviours of any kind. He was just kind of "flat" he just sort of watched the world go by. I really think that I just had too high of expectations. I got him thinking he would be a hiking buddy and pet. As soon as I got him though I started to do IPO and later got involved in agility and flyball.
> 
> This is an awesome article about slow to mature sport puppies that basically hits the nail on the head. I really wish I had read this when Odin was a baby.
> 
> Sleepy Puppies | Denise Fenzi


This gives me some hope! My dog is A LOT like this he is almost a year old and flat is a good word to describe it. When we're training at the club(just reg OB nothing special) it is usually an incredibly frustrating experience because he would rather sit and watch everything going on around me then to give me focus. Did you ever have trouble with focus? Granted he is not full WL and I always thought it was his SL side being part of these issues and me possibly being a terrible handler, lol.

The only time this dog comes alive is for his flirt pole, tug(LOVES TO TUG) and when herding, then he shows lots of drive and a strong desire to work. I just wish I had more experience and better trainers around me to know if its him or me and its also a big possibility I'm expecting way too much out of him at his age. Interesting thread!


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## robk (Jun 16, 2011)

I have a new WL female from completely different lines than my male. She is now 14 weeks old. I "think" I can all ready tell what i have in her but am trying to reserve judgement until she is a little older. I can tell, however, that she is very different from my male in many many ways. Some I like, others I don't like.


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## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

When you have 7-8 week pups, the breeder can ( experienced) be pretty accurate in predicting general outcomes on pups especially if the female has had a litter before for the breeder or this is multiple generation of the breeders stock. For somebody who is seeing pups for first time and picking, there are general signs you may look for....but it means much less in terms of assessing what the dog will eventually be. Case in point, suppose you have a litter with very strong genetics from both parents, and suppose you have a litter with one parent from strong genetic stock and other parent from much softer stock, ( line mixing), when you view both litters, I am sure there will be some dominant pup, maybe an aloof pup, most pups wagging tails and hopefully coming out to meet you. But as they grow older, some of the pups from the second litter are going to start taking on the characteristics of the weaker genetics. In the context of the litter, they looked fine, but as time progresses you start seeing insecurities. You could not see these at seven or eight weeks, but by three to eight months you will. That's why the two MOST important element in getting a pup to me, is 1) genetics, 2) knowledge of the breeder........it is no coincidence that people like Chris Wild or Carmen Duggan have been immensely successful in placing successful pups in home. They have good genetics, and as breeders they know there stock and understand what they are seeing based on knowledge of their stock.....obviously there are other breeders as well, I just used them randomly.
All breeders are not knowledgable and all stock is not strong genetically, but when those two pieces are in place, you have very good chance of getting a good pup.


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## KristiM (Oct 18, 2011)

Carriesue said:


> This gives me some hope! My dog is A LOT like this he is almost a year old and flat is a good word to describe it. When we're training at the club(just reg OB nothing special) it is usually an incredibly frustrating experience because he would rather sit and watch everything going on around me then to give me focus. Did you ever have trouble with focus? Granted he is not full WL and I always thought it was his SL side being part of these issues and me possibly being a terrible handler, lol.
> 
> The only time this dog comes alive is for his flirt pole, tug(LOVES TO TUG) and when herding, then he shows lots of drive and a strong desire to work. I just wish I had more experience and better trainers around me to know if its him or me and its also a big possibility I'm expecting way too much out of him at his age. Interesting thread!


Focus was never a huge issue for us. He would focus and do stuff but was always just kind of blah about it. It was like the lights were on but no one was _really_ home lol. He started to like tugging after I implemented the methods in Michael Ellis' video the power of playing tug, before that he would play but with no intensity. By the time he was one I had kind of written him off because he was not the kind of dog my club liked (and still really isn't) and I had never 1. had a male puppy before and 2. he was my first GSD. I didn't realize that sometimes they take a while to mature and show that intensity and drive, it was always there, it just took a awhile to come out. Nerves were always there but aggression was not, he was always environmentally stable but would not jump into something head first. I like that about him, he has some self preservation. He doesn't do stuff at mach 10 the first time but by the 10th time he does. I mistook that for a lack of drive. As a puppy EVERYTHING he did was slow and thoughtful cause he didn't have experience. He still does stuff slow and thoughtful the first few times, he thinks about stuff and once he's got it the speed and intensity comes.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

" I am wondering at what age can you tell what is "at a dog's core." I have seen people say, "a great GSD, with solid nerves may not show it until they mature...sometimes 2/3 years." I have also heard that you can tell right away (3-7 months old), what kind of "toughness, nerve, stability, etc." that a dog has at their core. "

xxx DaniFani is asking about the core temperamental confidence , which is always at the core . This has nothing to do with drives. You can have a dog that can even have no prey drive , no play drive and be rock-solid . 
There is no need to wait till 2 or 3 years for confidence to show, in fact I would be suspect of a dog that is environmentally sensitive , reluctant , hesitant . A dog stable to the core lives life large, with gusto. No inhibitions and almost immediate recovery , resilience when something unpleasant results .

on to quote "I saw a WL pup(7 weeks old) last week that had really nice prey drive, grips were good, he didn't let go whatsoever, didn't stop after several minutes of play. Acted very confident, came right out and engaged.
Trainer thought the pup would make a good sport prospect with that show of play. "

xxx is that what schutzhund has become prey and play.
right from the beginning I would look at other things .

continuing quote "I then went out into the field and called the puppy "pup, pup, pup" from the handler."

xxx but it wasn't your dog . remember this 

quote " She'd only had him a few days, (11 pups in the litter and he was one of the last to go)"

xxx yes, she had only had him for a few days . The pup is trying to make sense of things , is transferring a bond , finding its home , group . "you" ask it to come to you - social attraction but also confusion causing stress because it is just learning attachment to the owner .

quote " Puppy ran towards me and then before he got to me, a few of the dogs in vehicles up in the parking lot started barking as someone pulled in. "

(necessary? barking) 

quote "Pup ran to me, whimpering and cowered a bit, hiding himself next to me. "

xxx depends, what are you interpreting . a young dog , temperature, distance , speed, not having much of a physical ability might come in making a wheezing squeak , also the excitement of the moment . the coming in cowering again that is an interpretation. The person giving the account is lying down , the pup , being social will come in low and lie down beside , which is what was said , and where was the shady side of you?
so many things to take into account. Had the dog been frightened , it would have bolted and avoided you . 

quote "I didn't show any body language that was threatening, was sideways and playfully on the ground....very neutral. "

"I didn't console pup, but got up and moved away while the handler called him to her."

xxx it would have been nice to acknowledge the pups efforts . It did come . a friendly , pleasant association would have been a very good thing . don't set up for failure 

quote "Puppy wouldn't engage with the handler when she called to him "

xxx exactly ! like this , the dog just did a recall and got no reward , do you think it was likely to try it again ?

"he went to a shade spot and laid down"

xxx yes -- a young dog has limits.

so overall there is no need for a dog this young to be out on the sport field . first task is to show the dog where it belongs , bond with family , bond with master , at least until that is understood.

what should have happened is reverse of the "test" that was given . the stranger should have held the dog . The owner should have walked away. The dog should have been encouraged to come on in , and when he arrived there should have been a party , personal bond forging .

instead it was done backwards ..


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

When I went out, it was in play/we weren't doing any evaluating. As I posted, so much plays into things....breeder raising methods, genetic, that was the point of my post. One five minute window of a stranger looking at a pup doesn't mean a whole lot in the big picture. The handler that brought the pup along wasn't even the one who will be doing the training/her husband is the one doing the feeding/etc


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## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

Thanks for all the input, everyone. It seems that most want/expect a pretty "robust, confident, quickly recovering" puppy, even as young as 7/8 weeks. One would then be lead to be concerned/dissuaded from a shy, nervous, cowering, fearful pup. Is it then safe to say, for the most part, that GSD puppies that are going to fit the standard in temperament should never be shy, nervous, cowering, etc....in everyday, normal, experiences?


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## Rbeckett (Jun 19, 2013)

DaniFani said:


> I understand that most dogs can be "trained" to do lots of things. But I am curious about a dog being able to "handle" the unexpected, via a calm/confident/balanced core. Sure most dogs can be "trained" but *most shepherds/dogs can't be working LE dogs, perform well in SchH, be a SAR dog, etc....I am curious to hear from the people in those arenas, and what they "expect," if anything, out of an immature dog, bred for or being trained in those fields. Are there things they *want to see in an immature dog and/or things they don't want to see in an immature dog being trained/bred for those fields. A dog being well-socialized, loving people, playful, etc...doesn't hold a lot of weight in proving it's stability. I think it contributes to it, but I have seen plenty of "friendly" dogs, that can quickly become reactive and fear aggressive if startled or faced with the unknown. I would expect and hope that a dog with a balanced/clear/stable head, could do all these stressful things (LE, SchH, SAR, protection, etc) as well as calm/balanced in a home, with a family, and children as a "pet".....is that expecting too much? Maybe....but some of the well-known members on here with dogs in all these areas also "expect" them to be good pets in the home....so I don't know....
> 
> And I guess I don't understand the bolded example. This sounds like un-necessary resource guarding??....that you expect out of your dogs? Of course you (general you) can train your dog to do anything you want it to....but I would be very wary and probably never return to a home with a rottie or other large dog that exhibits and is encouraged to perform these behaviors, and it doesn't *sound like a stable, balanced, dog to me....although I could be wrong, and maybe more experienced people will chime in....again, not sure how that was an example of a balanced/stable dog or had anything to do with the original question.....I am not meaning to sound snotty, just confused by this example and the point you were trying to make with it.


Dani,
I guess I should have prefaced my opinion with the fact that we have only accepted dogs into our home who were pound saves, flea market saves or rescues. We have never bought a high value pedigreed dog because there has always been an ample supply of good candidates at our local ASPCA shelter and pound. Our most recent acquisition was a washed out Service dog. She failed to meet the standard for transitioning and was removed from training and needed a forever home or be destroyed. So a lot of the dogs we have taken in were fundamentally not show standard or from strong backgrounds to begin with. We have essentially worked with what we got and helped all of them become the best dogs they could be. Some were less than perfect but for the most part they have all excelled in one or more traits. The rotttie was a 125 pound lap dog that would literally lick the skin off your face and loved everybody and everything. When my oldest was a baby she pulled him around the house with her tail since it wasn't docked. She was always within his reach up till she died of bone cancer at the age of 7. As far as guarding her home she did that naturally because I am disabled and unable to react quickly so she makes up for it by helping to slow things down in the house. If you were invited to our home you would find a happy, well adjusted pack that was glad to meet you and interested in what you are about because I have home health people in and out all the time. Once you have been introduced and been greeted you are welcomed into the pack and can then come and go at your leisure. Sassy only guarded the door with people she had not been introduced to or accepted. In her entire life she only did not like the man who delivered LP, and we figured it was because she was taunted by him on one or more occasions. Generally if we were comfortable and allowed you into the house that was good enough for her. But with almost zero exceptions every dog we have ever had has been loyal, resourcefull, independent, stable and consistent. Some did not arrive that way, but over time with patience and lots of love and reassurance they all became well behaved and productive memebers of out little pack. We have never been worried if one of our girls would ever bite or act out in public or private. They all understood that biting was strictly forbidden through training and diversion when they were young and in the teething stages of puppy hood. Every one could go into public on a leash and behave perfectly. The down/stay command would work for long periods of time with no reinforcement if we wanted to eat in a restaurant that didn't allow dogs on the patio outside. I would say that we have been fortunate and have also spent a great deal of time training them so we have always gotten predictable results from every one. As far as specialized training I have no doubt that they could manage that with little difficulty if we decided that we wanted them to do that too. For us about the highest level of training we ever expect to reach is a canine good citizen. With the exception of the latest arrival, she will complete her SD training, so she can go with me when she is done and assist my activities while I am out and about.

Wheelchair Bob


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

YES always "It seems that most want/expect a pretty "robust, confident, quickly recovering" puppy, even as young as 7/8 weeks."

NO never select " a shy, nervous, cowering, fearful pup."


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## Chip Blasiole (May 3, 2013)

You should be able to tell a lot about your dog's temperament strengths and weaknesses at an early age, but you have to know what to look for and set up scenarios to evaluate the pup. How does the dog react to new environments? Does he show defensive barking in unfamiliar situations? Is he gun shy? What does he do if you bring him around a lawnmower or leafblower, for example. You can build some simple agility obstacles to see if he is confident walking on narrow boards off the ground, or use objects already around, such as at a playground. Will he readily go into the water and swim. How is he around other dogs and children? Tie him out and walk away out of sight for a few minutes and observe him. How is he on slick, shiny surfaces? Does he have any prey drive? There are many things you can do to assess a puppy. These are things that are part of socialization that to me are more important than taking him around and letting everyone pet him.


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## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

Lol....when I had litters, when they reached 7 weeks, I would take a small gas powered leaf blower and turn it on and leave it in the middle of the yard. I didn't expect them to run towards it but I want to see how they handle/adjust this noise/object. What I absolutely don't want to see were pups that would run and hide under something, whimpering, and not come out. There are differing degrees of acceptable, like coming forward to inquire, or just observing it for a while, or just ignoring it and engaging in something else, all being acceptable.....but many people today are breeding litters where this object would traumatize the pups......and that is NOT good temperament.


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