Changes in personal preferences.... - Page 2

Hank - I do remember you telling me about him.  That was a really good dog.  Why do you think your dogs now require more focus on them/maintenance?  And yeah times have changed where you can't have a dog around you 24/7 back then compared to now.  I notice in other countries dogs are seen in more places but here in the U.S. unless you have a hand held rat dog, your dog can't be with you in public.

Workingdogz - You make some good points and I did forget what you brought up, biddability.  Something that if the dog has can make things a lot easier.

Chaz - So true.  I never grew up with working dogs so all of this is new to me and I have been learning through trial and error just like you did.  It is something when you start learning from people that really know what they are talking about and you see that what you once thought was a mean and scary dog is really just a insecure nerve bag. 

RS - Lol...yes, biddability.  Makes things a lot easier.  That is why I want that and not so much prey drive anymore.  As I said earlier, I am not competiting at Nationals, Worlds or going to be on the K-9 unit.  Since I am not doing those things I don't need all of that prey drive.  I think it is something that is more ego for a lot of people than anything else.  I see people like to brag about prey drive and everything else when all their dog is, just a club level dog.  I like a dog that can settle in the house and isn't wound so tight.  Genetics is so important and as the more time I spend I really look closely at a lot of stuff I didn't know about before.

Ace,
You may have answered your own question. I think maybe environment and times more than genetics. Dogs were allowed more freedom in those days, anyway where I grew up. I hardly ever saw a dog chained or kenneled. They just ran loose. usually if a dog was a mean dog and bit someone he would be shot, unless the owner had real cause for the dog biting. A dog that was allowed to run loose got used to traffic or they got run over. If your dog caused someone trouble it would be settled out in the yard or at the kichen table. So basically dogs were socialized alot different.

  Now with so many laws, ordinaces and lawyers and people using them, dogs as a whole are a bigger liability. So they aren't raised under the same circumstances. Their socialization is under strict control so their actions are controled more by repitition in training than experience by living.

I may be totally wrong, but I know how I have changed over the years, that i think has changed my dogs over the years. I think in breeding we look at how the dog turns out under our training than we would see if a dog was allowed use his natural intelligence more. I think it would change the meaning of clear headedness, more often I see dogs trained in protection with not a lot of thought about the degree of natural protection a dog posseses. I always have believed a dog learns by living
when his living is limited, his learning is limited.

Hank

PS  Working dogs, sounds like you are enjoying your dogs, and I bet they are pretty good

desert dog:

Our dogs have been our cheaper substitute for
therapy-physical and mental 

I do tend to agree, so many people are so
worried about "Fido" having a "bad" experience,
they try to control every little part of the dogs
life/environment. If you actually 'live' with your
dogs/puppies, they will either adapt and get over
the small shit, or fold up in a ball. I'd rather know
that my well bred dog does in fact have the ability
to recover from sometimes less than pleasant
experiences ie: being stepped on in the middle
of the night accidently by us etc, than have a dog
remember that for days after the fact.

We don't use all the little gadgets etc in training,
sometimes we'll use a ball or a tug, but we kind of
remain "old school" in that we expect/want dogs
that work for us, not because we are a vending
machine of treats/toys.

High points and on the podium? No, not myself
or my other half, neither of us have that goal,
but we do ok, and we are having fun
with the dogs, thats what we do it for!

I may be totally wrong, but I know how I have changed over the years, that i think has changed my dogs over the years. I think in breeding we look at how the dog turns out under our training than we would see if a dog was allowed use his natural intelligence more. I think it would change the meaning of clear headedness, more often I see dogs trained in protection with not a lot of thought about the degree of natural protection a dog posseses. I always have believed a dog learns by living when his living is limited, his learning is limited.

Hank, you said the above.  I think you are totally RIGHT!  Awesome paragraph. 

I also still like the same type of dog that I liked when I first started... however, I find that now I am more able to SEE what I like in a dog... more able to judge and evaluate the dog, and have a much better understanding of what it is that I actually do like.  Before I could just say "I want a dog like THAT dog", now I understand why I liked THAT dog lol  

like workingdogz said - I wish I could go back to my first dogs with the knowledge that I have now!!!  or even my 2nd dog, 3rd dog lol  

Valerie