define suspicion? - Page 2

thanks rugar so it starts with an intense stare then moves onto growling ? does it ever just end with a stare if you avoid whatever it is rugar is intensely staring at ? 


                    trouble,,,

             If I was a more experienced handler I am positive it would end with just a stare...lol....; )

       Howver, when I see Prince getting ready to fire up on a situation I will distract him with obedience getting him to focus on me or I will remove him from the situation.....

             

You guys are funny. You are over analyzing this stuff. Stop mulling over theory and go work more dogs. If you see a lot of dogs then you don't need to define suspicion.

New situations and new things...your dogs reaction to them.  New people...new stimuli...again what is his reaction to it.  If the dog just rushes in with no thought ...one might call that impulsive or prey drive...But when a dog is "suspisious"......he is slower to engage in the situation until he has a handle on it.  Suspisious is also a thinking dog.....Its not Rocket Science........GSD are usually suspisious of people other then their owners at first...Protection....fight or flight....all those things come into play depending on your dog.  JMO 

Just My two cents....

I believe Suspicion is the first of three levels of Stimulation in a dog when talking about aggression.  Suspicion, Threat, Danger.   Think of yourself sitting in a bar.......

Suspicion,

You see that guy sitting across the bar hood up, slumped over, or looking around with a weird look on his face.  you can obviously tell hes up to something and is different from the rest of the crowd.     If the helper can present himself as suspicious the dog should be at least paying very close attention to him.

Threat,

That same guy begins staring you down or walking  towards you with a mean gaze.   The dog should realize this guy is serious and begin barking.  A dog with high levels of suspicion or that is experienced will probably begin to bark before this when the helper is only suspicious.

Danger,

The guy is now in your face, within arms distance.   He is dangerous to your physical well being.   Fight or get hurt.  At this point the dog should be fighting and if presented the option should have the intent to bite. 

Obviously its not always this cut and dry but if a dog will let a helper go through all three stages with no reaction, usually a slight physical "stimulation" will raise his suspicion levels, and will show him to react when the helper is a threat or danger to him. 

a state of mental uneasiness and uncertainty....physical stimulation does not bring out suspicion...IMHO....

for a helper, it is necessary to bring out the proper response in a young dog. I can make any dog suspicious of me just by look or posture...without running around like a clown. If you start this type of work, it should be done at a distance before pressuring a young dog:-) It sure helps with developing the bark...unfortunately, most helpers haven't a clue as how to bring out this response as it takes time and patience:-) Happy training!

like persay my female if i sit in a parking lot she will sit calmly and just watch everyone around her occasionaly there will be one person that she will sit and get a intense stare at the one person till they go out of her sight range or get in their car. then she goes back to watching.

you your self im sure have bin walking down the road or bin in a room and someone starts acting odd or looks funny and it catches your  eye and you wonder what they are doing. thats suspicion

the dictionary definition is a feeling of distrust or percieved guilt from someone or something.

even my new puppy i have had for 3 days is very aware. hes not quite old enough to rely know much about it but he will stare people down at 13 weeks

you will know if you pay attention to your dog if he is being suspicious of someone or not. thats just handler observation noone can tell you how your dog will act since each one is different.

uglyk9  i like your idea.

Thanks Sable.....Judron, I think what you and I have described are very much inline with each other.  ALOT of dogs have a good amount of natural suspicion and will fire off when the helper is portraying himself only as suspicious and not yet at the level of threat or danger, like you said suspicion is usually from a distance.  But what happens if you have a very confident dog or for that matter  a dog that goes into avoidance when it sees the helper being suspicious?  You would have elevate your level to becoming a threat and danger, if the dog still did not react and will willingly let you come with in a distance of being able to touch it at that point it would be appropriate to use physical stimulation of some sort...usually very little works.  The dog will react in some manner either by coming forward or vocalizing driving the helper out of the danger zone.     The next time, the dog will be more suspicious of the helper and should have learned not to let him get within the danger zone.     

At the same time, a dog that turns on at the presence of suspicion would usually not need any physical stim as this would defeat all of his levels of defense. 

Have a good one!

Sable......I wish I could claim that as my idea......Learned it from a very wise man:)