Hello all:
I have read Ed's definitions of hard and soft dogs. It would seem that hard dogs can take harder corrections while soft dogs cannot. Some folks repeatedly make the point how hard their dog is (i.e. implying it is a good thing) while in the same breath proudly suggesting that only experienced trainers (hard?) can handle them.
Ed. has also written about a good police dog he knows that is soft. So what exactly are the advantages of a hard one over a soft one. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Who should get a hard dog and who should get a soft dog ?. Should family dogs be soft ?
Heavy-handed green handler= hard dog ( or no dog at all)
Lite-handed green handler=medium dog
80 yr. old 100 lbs. lite- handed green handler= soft dog
Heavy-handed experianced handler=hard dog (or no dog at all)
Lite-handed experianced handler=soft, medium, or hard dog
Heavy-handed pet handlers= hard dog (or no dog at all)
80 yr. old 100 lbs. lite-handed pet handlers=soft dog
etc., etc., etc.,....Depends on the person and their needs.
Also if I was experienced (Which I'm not) then I would tell one who was green like myself it also depended on the handler's social environment.
For Example, kids, different people around, other pets, type of home, etc.
This way if a green handler had a hard dog, or a breed that seems more intense on average (Belgians) then that would be taken into consideration. I basically mean if they're in a certain environment then there's more room for error. Some people have small kids and have NO room for mistakes. I think the other people here say it all, this is just food for thought if you will.
It is probably better in the long run for a greenhorn to have a medium to medium-soft dog. Having a soft dog (like I do) can be both a good and bad thing. He is both easy to correct and too easy to overcorrect. It's sometimes very easy to get frustrated when your highly intelligent but very soft dog shuts down when you are trying to refine an exercise. On the plus side, an inexperienced handler (like I was) can find such a dog quite easy to train. Mine is a wonderful dog, but I wish he was just a little bit tougher.
I would assume, having not had one myself, that if you are buying a protection breed it is probably better to get a soft one. Especially if you are new to this type of dog.
Some people with kids might mistakenly assume a softer, more sensitive dog is
always better. In my case my hard male is much better with children than my soft
female. Being less sensitive he can take an occasional full on the ear without a
problem. Also in training there's more room for error in a hard dog making them better for some beginners. Conversely a softer dog might require a more experienced handler depending on the type of training being done.
When horsing around, my male is pretty tough. I did puppy testing on him before I took him home. Including the pinch test (on toe webbing) that indicates pain threshold. My fingers were tired and still he didn't cry. He plays VERY rough with other dogs and is really best with dogs that outweight him by about 20lbs. To prepare him for anything my family and I conditioned him to accept tugs, ear and tail pulls, light and medium slaps, sticks and objects hitting him all through play. He is very gentle when playing with humans and is not really fazed by anything physical in play. Correction in obedience and especially the wrong tone of voice and he is a different dog. His feelings get hurt. I never knew dogs could be so different tempermentally in different yet similar situations.
Robert VanCamp Webboard User Reg: 11-28-2001
Posts: 3916
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Nice posts John.
If the dog is very hard and also has some other issues, like rank, then you shouldn't be messing around with them as a beginer. Just my, hard learned, opinion.
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