Sharp dog - Page 1

Sharp vs nervy....where do you draw the line?

Sharp to me would be something I'd associate with civil not nervy.  Nervy would be more of a dog that's fearful or lacks the confidence to have courage and will just bite because that's it's first initial reaction to being afraid.  Sharp would be a dog that is fully confident, is balls to the wall full of courage and does not take no crap.  This would be a dog that will let you know that you are seconds from crossing the line and perhaps may not wait as long to give you a second chance to back off. JMO

With my old dog it was a fine line. She was very sharp meaning she quickly reacted to external stimuli in an aggressive way but in reality her nerves were bad, very questionable on the fight/flight. Just a defensive (actually explosive) reaction to bluff what was scaring her.

From:

Understanding Dogs
Temperament in Dogs – Its Role in Decision Making

by Dr. Radcliffe Robins


"Sharp Temperament

 A dog with a sharp temperament reacts (immediately) to individual environmental stimuli without thought.  The dog does not consider consequences.  It may jump sideways and run far away if startled by a slamming door, very reluctant to return, if at all. The sharp dog recovers, but slowly.  The sharp dog may fearfully bark forever at the play of shadow across a doorway, or the light pattering of a small branch on the roof.  If the stimulus is innocent and continuous, the sharp dog does not settle down and accept its innocence.  It continues to react without thought. It will not investigate. 

This dog may seem at first to be an excellent alarm dog, but extreme sharpness, coupled often with a lack of confidence, could make it a perpetual nuisance to neighbours and household members.


Sharp-Shy Temperament

The Sharp-Shy dog displays aggression based on fear, he is the classic “fear-biter.”  Being sharp, he responds without thinking, and being shy, he is fearful.  This combination produces a dog that bites at any unfamiliarity without thinking.   Fear is a normal reaction in a normal dog to a perceived threat, but when the threat is over, the dog should recover quickly.  The sharp-shy dog recovers slowly; its fear may even paralyse it, and it may bite if touched.  It may be taught to adjust in a particular environment or situation, but when that situation changes, it will react again in fear and the behavioural cycle starts over again.  The Sharp-shy dog can never be fixed."

From the definition above, I would think neither sharp, nor sharp-shy dogs would be suitable for work.  I would think a dog that reacts reflexively to stimuli, without stopping to consider if the object of his reaction is a burgler or the owner's 10 year old child would be a disaster if trained in protection. 

Nervy, the way I've heard it used, seems awfully close to the above author's definition of "sharp".  A dog that barks his head off if he sees a piece of furniture in a new place, or a dog that jumps out of his skin if a balloon bursts within 20 feet of him.

Micky

Micky-  Thanks for posting those definitions.  I learned something new today. lol  I've heard a lot of trainers/breeders use the term sharp in a positive way so I automatically assumed it meant a more civil dog.  Maybe I misinterpreted?? 

Micky those were great discriptions! Sounds like my girl. The only difference is sometimes if she were startled she would go someplace else, very serious and took things head on. Meaning she would hold her ground an inch from someone with a stare that would send the devil himself packing! That was scary! After her spay ,it took awhile,  but with age (now almost 10 years old) she has mellowed alot. I still do not trust her with strangers though, great with people she knows.

I HAVE a working line rescue with an amazing wkg ped., http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/495775.html  I think she is SHARP (thanks for that thread all of you otherwise I would not know what the hell is going on with her) and I am finding out just how much rehab she is going to need because she was obviously forced to work.  My heart is so heavy...but with a rescue you get what you get, and she is still lovely, and has a temperament to die for.   She's just a companion dog who is runs away from danger of any kind leaving me with her collar and leash in my hands...(yes it happened)  I joined a really good Schutz club where we are working on our BH, and I know she can do that and hopefully have a lot of fun in the process.

T. 

By these definitions there doesnt seem to be a line at all.  Sharp = nerve bag.

I was told that sharp was when It doesnt take much stimuli to get a reaction out of  a dog (low thresholds).  A sharp dog may react to something as little as direct eye contact.....when another dog would not care at all.  The difference between sharp and nervy is recovery time.....the nervy dog not recovering fast or still percieving threat where there is none.

Thanks for the input.  I still have to think about this one...

What about age, what are the possibilities a younger dog say 6-12 months seems nervy, long recovery times, how often will this change at maturity? I have seen less than stellar dogs do things that I don't like and people always say "it's a puppy don't be so criticle of them, they will grow out of it". Still even if they do improve, is some improvement enough or should you just shit can a dog like this early and move on?

I just have to comment my dog is ANYTHING but sharp! LOL I'm just trying to grasp this deffinition. I thought sharp was something other than nervy.

Aisha will not shy away from direct eye contact, and has real clear headed moments that turn into minutes...but any big guy comes into her enviroment and she is a bundle of nerves and runs away.  This tells me that she had a heavy handed man in her life somewhere along the way...She will recover though, and has never ever bitten anyone to my knowledge. 

4pack...how can you "shit can" a dog?  Maybe that is what was done to my sweet rescue...she wasn't "hard" enough and was shit canned....I'll take my dog anyday-she can be rehabilitated with love, patience and lots of work., and I am up for it.  It's all about the dog for me-shit can or stellar.

T.