Thinking about a discussion... I spent years grilling every protection trainer about aggression and fear. I knew how to screen them out in temperament testing for HD function, but until I got a Malinois, I did not understand how much I was ignorant about. These guys in the bite suits who train IPO and personal protection and Ringsports know aggression and fear, they see it, they have reactive reflexes like cats to respond to dogs instantly, they can read split-second micro-expressions in dogs. But sometimes they are inarticulate or secretive or too busy for beginner naiive questions. Thanks to the ones that loved teaching, I learned so much. They know more than almost anyone who deals with only pet dogs. Thanks Ivan Balabanov, Dean Calderon, Randy Tyson, Tim Cutter, David Delesseigues, Andre Vandergeten, Kathy OBrien, Felix Sunga, Francis Metcalf, and all the IPO and Ring seminar givers Ive been to. And there are many kinds of aggression: self-defensive, prey, resource guarding, territorial, social. More that I cant think of. All are in a well balanced bitesports or Personal protection dog in various proportions depending on genetics and training. If fear enters the picture, a sufficient amount of aggression can mask it once the dog learns that aggression solves the problem of fear. Thus: fear-biting i.e. a similar behavior to paranoid humans who also are aggressive. Without a tiny amount of fear a dog cannot recognize danger. Dogs that have confidence but with a tiny bit of fear, can recognize a dangerous situation but confidently overcome it. They may have suspicion, without retreat. Dogs with no fear AND no aggression of any kind, make ideal pets and are what the SD and Guide Dog breeders aim for. Various kinds of aggression all come into play in bitesports and personal protection. But bitesports are designed to weed out fear-aggressive dogs, since their offspring may be overly fearful, and they are unstable and not thinking straight when working. A tiny bit of fear...no more. Such a small amount that you will NEVER notice this fear, it only shows in suspicion. SO, breeding working dogs for these means even with the most well-matched parents, there will always be pups with the wrong proportion of all these traits. I am shocked to read on the Malinois lovers page that so many people have Malinois that are terrified of loud noises and people. Most well bred Mali pups go toward loud noises to playfully bite the source. Well bred Malinois genetically cannot make themselves run away, they stand still or go forward even if frightened, which makes fear responses difficult to interpret. When stressed they may jump up and cling hard with their forelegs to their owners, but not try to escape. Escape is bred out of them. Going forward into a threat or loud noise like gun shots is bred into them. But as I said, many good litters are going to have an unbalanced puppy. And random bred Mali litters can have any combo of traits, and the wrong combo is dangerous. Border Collies are hard to breed because they also need a specific mix and balance of traits that can result in great dogs and complete failures in one litter. Only when we breed for a single instinct, or no instincts except social interactivity (ideal family pet or baby substitute that will never turn on you even if spoiled), is breeding for temperament a little bit simpler. So much still for us to learn! Share what you know, people....
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 04:24:52 +0000
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