Hard dogs - Page 5

Slamdunc,

Got your PM, thank you so much, very smart yet easy to understand explanation of prey and defense drives, I appreciate that.

Ibrahim

Ibrahim,

Your welcome, glad it made sense.

Jim



 

<------------------------anxiously awaits definition of "hard dog" and ensuing jihad;  anyone...  

how about talking to Koos in Holland kennel tiekerhook he breeds those type I think you like

I think the Hard to Soft spectrum describes the force (ex. correction, stress/adversity placed on the dog) required to change a dog's desired or current behavior.  But the dog may desire many things at once ex. please the handler or bite.  Which is why a hard dog may still paradoxically listen to its handler, but is difficult for, say a helper or a criminal, to deter from biting.   A hard dog requires more force (prong, e collar) to change its behavior, while  a soft dog may need only a verbal correction.

I think another component of hard and soft is how quickly a dog recovers after the dog's actions have been change from a correction or stressor.  Harder dogs recover quicker than softer dogs.

I've also noticed hardness and softness also coincides with a more dominant or more submissive dog respectively.

Mfh, I agree. That is what I refer to when I say hard or soft. I have recently seen a few dogs, however, who don't fit the submissive/dominant generalization though I would agree that there is a trend toward that. I have had one who was hard as nails, but very very handler responsive and not dominant at all. Truly, a fun dog to work.

"I think another component of hard and soft is how quickly a dog recovers after the dog's actions have been change from a correction or stressor.  Harder dogs recover quicker than softer dogs.". That is how I view it as well. As I said earlier, it is a matter of overcoming unpleasant experiences and the resiliency to bounce back and remain on drive. The harder dogs recover faster and are less affected by corrections or stress.

Recently I was in my vet's office for a heart worm test for one of my GSDs and one of our local Police Officers and his police dog were there waiting to see the vet for his annual checkup.  I noticed the dog was czech border patrol type and ask him how he liked him.  He agreed he was Czech border patrol stock and said he was working out fine as a police dog, but actually he was a "bonehead". I ask him what he meant by that and he said he was a very, very hard dog and tended to want to stay on task and he had to give very tough emphatic commands to get compliance.  He said that he was very strong and committed to his assigned tasks and once he got started very determined, sometimes a bit much. This is how he described hardness in a working GSD.

The dog was black and tan, had a big masculine head and small, correct ears and earset, big bones, very straight correct long bones, and only moderate angles in the front and rear.  He was low stationed, a bit long in loin, but overall all male and very impressive. He had dark eye and watched everything, but did not seem hyper at all.  This seemed to me to be a very good GSD.  I could easly see the dog was a no nonsense animal that deserved respect.  He literally oozed confidence and dominance.

LOL

Very interesting thread; hardness and softness as defined by slam seem to go more along a dominant type dog and a more submissive type dog respectively. Stubbornness and aggression seem to go along with hardness as well; the ideal dog is hard and likes to work with the handler. I can see how a hard dog can be a sensitive animal at the same time, but I wonder how a sensitive dog's defense can match that of a more aggressive, dominant dog...