GSD (Is there such a thing as too much Drive ?) - Page 8

This whole debate is useless - every handler is dreaming of "his one and only" dog.
For some people it´s a

• pet quality dog
• over the top prey drive dog
• show dog
• balanced dog
• real dog

You have been able to find these kinds of dogs through all the decades ( even the screamers ), and the showline dogs already existed at the beginning of the 20. century, that´s why Stephanitz/SV implemented the working titles...

As long as most of the litters are out of well balanced, well tempered dogs, you will be able to find everything you want, the balanced dog always as the goal, everything else you are able to pick out of the litters bred, too.

That said we most of all need the "normal" breeders ( but breeding to the rules ), because they are breeding for the all around dog, we need (some) sport breeders for the IPO guys, and we need ( some ) breeders for the "real" dogs, able to do a job ( not going to talk about the pet dog breeders, everybody should know my personal opinion about them by now ).

In reality a lot of people are asking for dogs they can´t handle ( over the top dogs sold into families with toddlers,  or real dogs as protectors for the wife, in case the husband is not at home ). Needless to say none of them heard about "training" before, and none of them wants to get involved...poor dogs.

For these people there is such a thing as too much drive, but that´s not the dog´s fault.

 

BZCZ, that's from my copy of the FCI breed standard. Wording may differ due to the translation used.

I did have a GSD that wanted to chase kids. She was NOT good with them at all. As my husband and I didn't have kids, we just kept her away from them, unless the situation could be very carefully controlled.

To me, the on/off switch is not a myth. I wasn't able to have a dog as a kid (my brother was allergic) but I got to know some of my relative's dogs quite well. Most were collie mixes, some had a dash of GSD. They would go all day long, following the tractor, playing fetch for hours with us kids, rounding up the cows at milking time, and chasing down varmints. When evening came, they'd come into the house and go to their bed and relax. At suppertime, they hung out near the table, hoping someone would drop something. The most wired of them (a border collie mix) would chew on his ball, then use his legs as a trough so he could push the ball off them, and run across the kitchen after it. Both he (and the kids) knew really vigorous play had to be done outside, so this was how he'd learned to satisfy his ball drive when inside the house. His drive was so strong that if you wanted to play baseball, he had to be locked in the shed, or you'd never get the ball away from him!

Sure, some of it's training.  Call it whatever you will. But these dogs had high energy when outside, and were able to chill and relax when inside. They didn't need to be shut in the barn because they were bouncing off the walls.

Oh, heck, what's the point in debating this anymore? Susie summed it up nicely...got to back to work here!

Definitely not in my translation from the FCI standard.  Never seen the FCI reference a guard dog et al.

I agree with Susie and that's been my point.  Quit knocking the dogs you don't like.  They are not incorrect in their heads.  Too much drive is not evil just as too little drive isn't evil.  The on off switch is a fable to sell dogs. Get out and train your dogs.

This is not a "new" problem, the sky is not falling.  There have been those dogs all along.

"Quit knocking the dogs you don't like" - sage advice.

Certainly!

I had a Fero son his name was Dago and he was a screamer he never barked it was just a scream and he had less prey drive then any dog i,ve ever had. I always refered to him as my special needs dog.

I've seen "screamers" in many breeds other than the GSD. The knick name for the Alaskan Husky is "The Screaming Weasel". If you want to hear screaming dogs, go watch a sled dog race.  I've owned a few screamers, horrible dogs to try to live with and you can be pretty sure they will outlive most of their quieter kennel mates. The screamers didn't seem to be any different in temperament from the non-screamers; when they got excited, they screamed rather than bark. Otherwise, no difference I could see. It's nothing I would ever breed for, but it is what it is - a very annoying thing to deal with in any dog and yes, they are special needs dogs - they need special owners to put up with them .

I train with a bad screamer..he will do his squealing best to hurt you in C phase. Since his handler knows what he is doing he is under control and is IPO 3..imagine that. The noise may be annoying but I dont delude myself about the quality of the dog because he has a high pitched voice. Reminds me of a certain boxer..

Some dogs are just born sopranos.  They can't all be baritones.

 

Dago,s main isssue wasnt his "off" switch it was his "on" switch which was no where to be found. He was good at spilling water bowls and getting out of his kennel but working wasnt in his forte! He was a good dog for a dog though!