stabiltiy - what exactly is it? - Page 1

hi all, i know enough not to ask definitions about drives on public forums but this question may be more than just learning about new words for me so appreciatte any opinions;

i get most drive wrods or can at least repeat them but to be honest i think i can read the obvious in a dog ok now.

is stability the same as a clear headed dog, ie if the dog is satble it must be clear headed as well so they are the same thing?

is hectic the same as unstable? is loading a dog or getting a dog loaded up  the same as getting it hectic?

what does an unstable dog look like in its behaviours.

my dogs obed goes out the window if pressured by a decoy and i would say he is hectic, is this right?

i have many vids but would prefer someone give me a clear excercise for my dog to do that will determine by video if he has a tendency to become unstable or hectic or something else like an inexperienced dog getting too high in drive or .....?????

confused but may determine how i select  future training excercises etc and stop problems before they start.

i hope people just don't lump it all under the banner of thin nerves end of story - thats the easy way out even tho it may well be true. i don't think nerves cos my dog is rock solid in the environment as good as any dog of any breed could be so nerves?

OK no one knows what stabitiy is......how about STABILITY, whoops.

give everyone a couple of glasses of adult beverages and they will be able to describe what stability is not. 

Your question is so compound, I feel a lack of STABILITY creeping up on me :-/

Hectic is not the same as unstable.....Hectic or frantic is hectic or frantic, usually more of a training issue.  A stable dog can easily be made hectic.  Obedience in front of a decoy and the frantic behavior is a lack of focus and more work is needed.  Dogs become hectic and frantic when they are not sure what to do or are exposed to a stimulus that overloads them.  Again, this can be a temperament issue but more often than not is it s a training / handler issue.  Unless, we are talking about malinois and not GSD's.  If your dogs obedience goes out the window around the decoy than step back and do more control work.  

Your dog may be hectic and that may be part of his temperament exasperated by your training.   

thanks Slamdunc, hectic is not unstable....good news . what then is unstable, i mean what does it look like when a dog is unstable - referring here to bitework.

i think yr analysis is correct - i already been told to not use a tug in obed training as the dog gets all stupid and stops learning pushing for the tug, switched to food as trainer suggested and hey presto different dog.

is unstable the same as saying dog is  "not clear".

talking about GSD.


thanks.

A dog can lose obedience in front of a decoy without becoming hectic. I have dog that during early training would become so focused on the decoy, not the sleeve, that his toenails were like cleats sunk into the ground and his entire body seemed ready to explode onto that decoy. But not hectic, just steely focused so that a bomb detonating on the field would not break his focus.......