[ SHOWGSD-L ] wase: GUN testing/ testing period
- From: Pinehillgsds@xxxxxxx
- To: marhaven@xxxxxxx, showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 08:40:32 EDT
In a message dated 7/15/2006 2:18:15 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
marhaven@xxxxxxx writes:
As Breeders we have a
reponsibility to know this....how else can we even temperament test our own
puppies before we let them go if there is no clear understanding of true
sound
character....or unsound character? We need to start at SQUARE ONE!
How many dogs in a given year do NOT attend the National that are being bred.
The Parent Club already rewards dogs that have been through all this. But
how
many hundreds never attend a national nor a temperament test. We can
still
all test the dogs on our own .....if we really care. I would guess that
many asking
for this at the National are not testing their dogs at home on their own
that do not
attend the National. I could be wrong.....but that would be my guess. <G>
You need to know how to "read" a dog
Here's a question for a Saturday AM;
When I have a litter of puppies, from the time they toddle each is taken
away from the litter individually for a short period of time daily. I play
with
them, groom them, do the normal ears and nails things but I also condition
them to noise. I make noise (they come into the kitchen/laundry area, the
washer or dishwasher will be on, I vacuum, they hear TV a radio etc.). I throw
silverware onto a ceramic floor away from the puppy, later a metal dog food
pan. The initial responses are usually the same; they startle, look around,
see
the world isn't ending, go over and investigate. (I say nothing, either to
reassure or praise.) After about a week, when they are tired or investigating
something else, they don't notice commotion at all. I've vacuumed around
tired puppies! I have pleasantly surprised puppy people when their new bundle
of fur sleeps through a thunder storm:) I have dogs that will sleep
peacefully in their crates at the noisiest indoor show venue imaginable.
So....were they conditioned? And can sound sensitivity ON OCCASION be a
part of the environment?
Before you say no too quickly, don't we all know of someone who brings a
sound dog home to a neurotic older dog and before long the new dog is
copy-cat-ing the behaviors of the neurotic one? What about the owner, who
having had
sound sensitive dogs before, upon hearing the first rolls of thunder, calls a
(new) dog over to pat, fret and nervously reassure doggie that "everything is
OK" while exhibiting signs themselves that everything is most definitely NOT
OK? Can neurotic behavior be learned? Can it even be rewarding?
I agree with you Carolyn; testing begins at home.
As far as the National, personally, I think additional testing is redundant.
You'll have people train for it (which is a good thing; ANY training is a
good thing), but the benefit of additional testing IMO will be extremely
minimal. Most folks get a TC on a dog they think can go Select in prep for an
AOE
and come to think of it, I don't know too many people who knowingly would take
a chance of showing an rolling-eyed tail-tucking, hit-the deck spook at a
National venue anyway, from the puppy classes on up.
Honestly, I think temperament has improved in the last 12-15 years. BUT, if
time permits to those who advocate another layer of testing, if it makes you
feel better, test away.
Kathy
three generations of Dual Titled Champions live here!
visit _Pine Hill German Shepherd Dogs_
(http://www.geocities.com/pinehillgsds/)
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