What is Clear Head or Clear Mind - Page 1

Hi All,

Just trying to know about some terms. Temperment is something I have some idea about but what is this Clear Head or Clear Mind. What does it refer to ?? Can anyone share some info please.

Thank you

Terms are varied and have so many different meanings that they confuse me as well.
Too many terms out there for me.


I hope someone who uses these terms can help you understand them,
maybe I'll learn something too.

Good luck,
Moons

Thats a easy one it means not crazy and has some smarts to me.

inc,
IMHO, a clear headed dog is one that can be put into drive, and I mean high drive and stay focused on task.  It is an easily trained dog that is high in drive.  The easiest place for most people to see this is in protection work, IMO.  It can also be seen in OB and detection work.  A clear headed dog can be put into drive, yet stays focused and can take commands.  A dog that spins or is so overloaded by the stimulus of the decoy that it can not control it's energy may not be a clear headed dog.  I like a dog that channels it's energy and directs it towards the decoy, not letting it all leak out by spinning or some other behavior.   A clear headed dog when engaged with a strong helper and really fighting can out on command and still be super intense to readily re-engage when commanded. 

My ideal dog is a hard dog, with high drives and natural civil aggression that is clear headed.  I like a dog that can take a properly applied correction and not redirect to the handler, this is also a part of a clear headed dog.  I guess the best example would be a dog that can be shown a strong stimulus and not "loose it's mind."  The dog will be high in drive, yet in complete control of it's thought process and focused on the exercise.  Fortunately for me, my dog is just like this.  Very hard, very focused, super high drives and very clear headed.  

JMO FWIW,

Jim 

Jim, you took the words out of my mouth. That is the way I define clear headed also!!

Gustav,
Nice to see you here. 

Jim

Thank you all for your responses.

Jim,

Thank you for the info. From your explaination ....
"I like a dog that can take a properly applied correction and not redirect to the handler, this is also a part of a clear headed dog" ........... does it mean handler agression ? or which way does the dog redirect to the handler ?

I see many working line dogs were mentioned to be clear headed but I havent seen many show lines.......... but I think even the showline dogs also must be clear head to do their SchH titles .... right ? At what age can we really figure out the drive of the dog ? And .... for show purposes do we need a high drive dog or .......... not ? I am talking showlines........so can you please give some info.??

Thanks

inc,
"I like a dog that can take a properly applied correction and not redirect to the handler, this is also a part of a clear headed dog" ........... does it mean handler aggression ? or which way does the dog redirect to the handler ?

Yes, I was referring to handler aggression.

Working or show lines, clear headed and high drive is clear headed and high drive.  If I must generalize, you will find the working line dogs to be higher drive dogs, that is why you see them advertised as clear headed.  It is much more important to have a high drive to be clear headed.  An average drive dog, even one that does SchH will not be overloaded in drive by stimulus as a high drive dog.  To generalize again, most showlines are not over the top in drive, so being clear headed is not really as big of an issue.  Now, some showlines dogs have nice drives and perform well, but most are not "over the top."  Actually, few are loaded that high in drive that it is an issue. 

What age can you tell how the drives are?  Most really good breeders can tell by 4 or 5 weeks.  All dogs mature differently, I have a working line female that is now 11 years old.  She was a firecracker and super high drive from 7 weeks old.  She still is high drive.  My male was a slow bloomer, until 6 months or so.  By 8 months he was on a full sleeve with full crushing grips, doing a hold and bark and outing.  My previous male was high drive from 8 weeks.  My current dog was a dud compared to the others until 6 or 7 months, he is now 4 years old and the best working dog I have ever owned.  Super high drive and very trainable.  Last week I taught him to open my car door in literally 3 minutes.  There are pros and cons to this for a police K9.    

If you want to do SchH you need a dog with good drives, whether it is a SL or WL.  Plenty of SL dogs get SchH titles.  You have to decide what you want.  I started doing SchH with a SL dog back in '94.  He was a super high drive dog, Sl's were different then.  I'd recommend researching lines that you like and then breeders.  I would want to see the parents work even if it was just by video.   

The biggest thing is the dog and it's temperament and what you like , not whether it's SL or WL. 

Jim

The problem is that most show lines are focused on the show track so the working side is not as developed.  You still should strive for a dog that is clear in the head, can tolerate stress and remain on task without tagging random people.  The level of drive will depend on what a breeder can deal with.  Most, not all, show line breeders will not tend to put level of drive as a top criteria in selection.  I think the level of drive can be improved in showlines if it is selected for.  Same goes for working lines and show ratings, a lot can be gained from a little ring training.  It is nice to see working line breeders putting more emphasis on correct (not  to be confused with current VA style) conformation, and shown in the higher levels.  As well as some showlines being trained in the working side more.  A little balance is a good thing.

I would just add to a really nice Jim´s explanation that for me clear head also means that the dog is social,well - behaved and confident in all the situations,environmentally sound.