aggression and suspicion in the gsd - Page 1

Jumped the gun a little.

What is your definition of aggression and suspicion?

How do you define sharpness?

How do they differ in your opinion?

What is the age range that you would expect to see these characteristics in a GSD?

WL GSD that is.

I realize there is a lot of grey area depending on bloodline and individual dog.  Just looking for a broad generalization.

No right or wrong, just what you think.  You meaning those accustomed and knowledgeable of protection training weather it be sport or real life application training.

Nice thread
also correct me if i am wrong but all these things have to do with parts of a dogs defensive drive right? as in they are things that come out of defensve drive?


on leerburgs site it says that dogs do not start to develop a strong defensive drive till they are 18 months usually so i imagine this would go on until they are fully mature at 2.  FOR wesst german lines.

That's a lot of questions. 

I'm only taking on one question here.  Sharpness is probably the most misunderstood or mis used term in training.  I do not want a suspisious dog at all.( although it is not uncommon for puppies 5-9 months to go through a bark at everything faze)  I want a confident dog. Yes defence develops between 18 months and 2 years. That is why we work in prey until the dog is mentally mature enough to deal with stress.
 Sharpness is a dog's constant readiness to react in a hostile manner to all real or imagined threats and stimuli.  Too much sharpness is as undesirable as too little is. An "ideally sharp" dog is one that is far quicker to recognize and react to a REAL threat than one that may have too much or too little sharpness.

I think Defense develops a lot earlier than 18 months.  You can certainly see it in puppies and young dogs.

JMO,

Jim

No you are right Jim.  But in the lines I work with (mostly sport)  if i see defence early on it goes hand in hand with "fear biter".  I guess I should have clarified the statement with mentally mature rather than actual age guidelines. 

Early defense = "fear biter" WTF?

I think I better back out of this thread now before my blood pressure rises too much. 


Jim is right. 

Sometimes, not everything you read on Leerburg is the only right answer. 

For the record, I don't mind some suspicion. I don't want a dog who goes running blindly toward threats with no recognition that something could be dangerous, especially if I'm counting on that dog for my safety. How is a dog w/NO suspicion (as has been touted as ideal) going to discern threat from non-threat? Training, right? Well, that's all well and good, until you're in a situation you haven't trained for. 

big difference between fear and suspicion , not surprized some dont see the difference , and I agree with jim , defence can be seen from puppyhood
to work a dog in defence at younger age , thats a different thing

Jenni wrote:


Jim is right. 

I love hearing those those three little words from a woman.  It is so rare. 

Jim