Good GSD temperament characteristics - Page 2

Prager,

Good post. I totally agree. Some people think that meaner is better in GSD. Quite often I came across people in public who misinterpreted my girl’s behavior for low/calm temperament as if they couldn’t differentiate between well behaved/trained dog and the one out of control. They think that if my dog sits calmly at my feet surrounded by other dogs and she doesn’t launch herself at them barking, it means that she has a temperament of the Golden…

Niessia .. BE CAREFUL !!!!! IMO many people use terminology not knowing what they are talking about !!  , nasty , uncontrolable are not descriotive words of a dogs temperament.. hardness, a descriptive temperament trait,  is the dog's abitltiy to take a hard correction /reprimand ..  soft dog will in a manner of speaking , put it's tail between it's legs with a soft leash correction in contrast to a hard dog that will not .. we have worked canines literally where you could take a chair and break it over it's head and the dog would shrug it's head and not come off the bite !! -that is high hardness !.........uncotrollable , could be in reagards to the ability /desire to take direction from pack leader , a innate behavioral trait . e.g Wolves do not take with warm reception to human  obedience commands , do they ?? , , nasty ... this could mean a dog that is extaordinarily high in aggression , again another behavioral trait .. this is a common occurance now .. dogs either to soft, to hard  OR to high in aggresion , where the aggression is so high - wouldn't balk at turning around and biting the handler .. stay away from these intenseinnate behavioral traits !!

Hans, agreed. 

Problem is, often when you breed and produce a versatile, balanced animal, idiots mistake it for something else, as Niesia touched on. Those w/larger egos than brains want what Hans was saying, as happened w/Pit Bulls. They have no business owning what they are asking for, but that doesn't stop breeders from selling it to them, and worse, for continuing to breed dogs who are unbalanced and extreme.

 have had countless people in the public impressed by my dogs' temperament and behavior, as if I got lucky. They seem to think that they just come like that right out of the box. I have sold puppies to people who wanted a proper GSD, and now when the MILD puppy in the litter is having aggression issues, I wonder if ANY dog that they got their hands on wouldn't display the same traits. Dogs are so different in different hands, that I almost discount anything I hear secondhand about a dog unless I really trust the person describing it. In a description like that, I wouldn't trust a word of it, as clearly, they have no idea what they're talking about to be bragging about such inane qualities.

I keep meaning to post my recent experience of a dog I produced and bought back. 

IMO 98% of these so called temperament problems are training and handling issues. People want to look for a problem in the dog first before they look at themselves. Even knowledgeable breeders and trainers do this all the time. I hear this a lot "i dont want a dog I cant control" LOL so control it! You can do it although you prob need someone to help or tell you how.

Alphapup,

Thank you for warning. I am aware that I may be misinterpreting the words used in this add. I am just trying to understand what to look for in a good GSD that can be versatile. This add was quite striking as the total description to me sounded like description of a hell dog, especially that he as a stud, was paired with the female of similar claimed characteristics.  BUT maybe I am not familiar with the ‘working/police’ dog jargon. It’s one of the reasons I posted, I wouldn’t mind getting educated on this subject. Maybe the dog is simply extremely dominant type - that could explain his claimed characteristic as well.

You are right, NASTY description caught my attention mainly because of my understanding of this word. The only ‘nasty’ (not only aggressive – very nasty to other dogs, people, his own owners, etc.) dog I knew got put down because he became dangerous to everybody/everything around him. He was also this kind of ‘explosive’ personality that would get nasty without noticeable (to humans) reason. Dog behaviorist suspected some mental instability disorder in him (maybe even genetic).

Jenny78,

I agree with you that the same dog may behave differently in different hands. But if the dog is high in aggression, explosive and uncontrollable by nature, I don’t think that that would change (especially if you add extra ‘hard’ in a mix). Some people could manage that dog better than others, but I still think that he would be a handful. I met a person once who wanted a "really nasty" GSD to guard their property. He intended on chaining him to the house therefore the 'nastier' the better. I'm quoting "I don't mind feeding him with the stick; I need a really nasty one".  

SportySchGuy,

It looks to me that person who posted that add didn’t think that those are ‘temperament problems’. Add was ‘bragging’ about those traits/characteristics and referring to them as QUALITIES...

Well I look at that and say it is maybe a dog I want to look at. Not that I see the traits as a problem or quality but it might (although I doubt it) mean that the dog indeed does have some qualities I like. Not neccessarily those traits but they may be indicators of other traits. I look at it and see a dog that needs some direction and control. No big deal. Other people see a monster. A dog like that may in fact have genetic temperament problems but I see nothing wrong with giving a dog like that another chance with someone knowledgeable and willing.

I don't see anything but a stupid person writing an ad. Doesn't really say a thing about the dog. I know better than to get my hopes up that the dog really is all that...they never seem to be anything but lacking discipline IME.  Makes me feel sorry for the dog and want to give it a chance, honestly. I'd take it to see what it's all about.

Uncontrollable only means that person hasn't gotten it under control. 

 

I agree with most of what has been said. One man's description could be far from another's. The dog may be very different with another handler and it could be a very nice dog in the right hands. I say post a link. What's it gonna hurt? The seller gets more exposure for his "add".

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