where did the aggression go?

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by dogladyj on 10 January 2010 - 05:01

just wondering how many people out there see the loss of aggression ( and i am talking about the real thing, not super hyped prey drive) as one of the declines of the GSD.

take the fight out of the dog, and how much more do you lose? prey dogs may be easier to train, but what are you giving up to get it?

to me, prey = points, a direction too many breeders have taken. the popularity of the sport has driven too many breeders in this direction. no different than the show breeders being driven by the "look" that get VA.

and you say?

john

by VonIsengard on 10 January 2010 - 07:01

I agree John, but as a trainer working with a constant flow of GSDs too much for the families that bought them, I can tell you civil drives are still alive and well in the GSD. What is really lacking are trainers who know how to use it.

by prasac on 10 January 2010 - 13:01

Hi KCzaja,

Can we talk more about training? PM me please.

by SitasMom on 10 January 2010 - 13:01

please define aggression

by Jenni78 on 10 January 2010 - 13:01

John and Kelly, you are both right! This is THE reason I started breeding. I was afraid in ten years, there would be nothing but prey/play dogs who had no real aggression. I don't mind prey if there's also defense and fight and yada yada yada...but this is getting ridiculous.

Kelly, I think people are breeding what trainers know how to train. We're morphing the dog into something we can work with instead of learning how to properly work the dog as it was intended to be.

I wrote something like this on my site. http://vomeisenherz.com

by Sheesh on 10 January 2010 - 15:01

I think the aggression is still alive in our breed. I think the overwhelming problem is the general saturation of German Shepherds today. We are seeing SO many dogs, and litters of puppies because of the unbelievable popularity of the breed and explosion of the popularity of Schutzhund in the US. It seems to me that the fad of the sport in the US is a huge contributing factor to the direction many many breeders have taken towards breeding the prey monsters, with little attention to the natural aggression traits. If you look closely, there are still dogs being bred that have the natural agression and maintain the stability that you are referring to. I am not bashing Schutzhund by any means, just my opinion. Theresa

by Schluterton on 10 January 2010 - 17:01

Not trying to hijack this thread .......... But Sheesh, what part of the country are you in that you have seen an explosion in Schutzhund popularity? And in what time frame?

by Bhaugh on 10 January 2010 - 17:01

I agree with Sheesh. Too many dogs are being bred for nothing more than profit. I was just having this coversation with someone else today. Just how many dogs that are bred should be? And that includes Germany. Just because a dog can title doesnt mean that he will make a good stud dog or that he should be bred. A title IMO doesnt mean squat if the dog cant pass what he carries himself. Perhaps the rules need to change on how we define a stud dog and just what tests are needed to do this.

On the flip side where are all those puppies bred going to go, most likely into pet homes and thats an entirely different subject.

by LAVK-9 on 10 January 2010 - 18:01

I do see everyones point. I think back to a black DDR GSD I had and he had that natural raw aggression.He was stable though.He knew when it was called for but if a little kid ran up to him and smacked him in the face he wouldn't do anything but move out of the way.Now if some big jerk of a guy came up to him or me and did that it was a different story.I could take him anywhere....granted...I trained him. The dog I have now has no where near aggression as the other had.I am sure he would protect me but not with the same hardness that the other had. He is more prey driven.I guess that is fine for what I wanted him to do....but I do miss that seriousness that my other GSD had. And I have to say that Kelly has some great females that have quite the edge to them but great around kids and other people but when it is time to protect....watch out!! Don't mess with Kelly.

by Sheesh on 10 January 2010 - 21:01

I am in MD. The MD, DC,PA, and VA area has a ton of clubs. Theresa

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