Could someone pl. educate me on what is the difference between good temperament and good nerves. Are they the same thing ? I have some intuitive idea but am not entirely clear. A few age appropriate (puppy vs 1 year) examples would be appreciated. I have read about puppy aptitude testing and also seen the tests on Eds site.
I'm still learning on this one too, but I beleive they go hand in hand. A dog with poor nerves will be fearful therefore IMO, will not have a good temperment. I know that sometimes you can not tell for sure if a dog has poor nerves until they are put under stress. In this case a dog have a good temperment, but freak out under stress. Again, I would prefer the dog that does not freak. I hope someone else can explain this better because I am having a hard time trying! Hope this has helped.
Home of SAR dog:
Erk Vom Powell-Haus CGC, 3 year old male GSD
Bayani vom Wildhaus, 10 month old female,co-owned with her breeder
At the bridge, Ax CGC, male dalmatian http://www.geocities.com/lugnut514532000/index.html
I look at nerves as a specific part of a dog's overall temperament. Temperament being the overall nature of the dog. For example, a dog with weak nerves may not have overall poor temperament, of course subject to the needs of the owner.
I like your definition Chuck, as I had some questions on the nerve thing. I have some dogs
that are quite shy, but what I would still term
as having good nerves for what I need them for.
Shy as they are I can run them around ATVs, snowmobiles, pass other teams,head on pass etc and they won't spook. They are good under pressure and will withstand pretty firm correction. I have run other dogs that seem like they have a nice outgoing friendly temperment and they can't be trusted and blow up under pressure.
Seems like temperment and nerve are different parts of the dogs make up. Granted I am using dogs for my example that are as far from protection dogs as you can get. Comments anyone?
It also depends on what you use your dog for. If you have a pet dog who at times gets spooked real easy but is great around your kids and easy to train you may describe him to others as a dog with good temperament even though he has weaker nerves. The weak nerves is not that big of a deal to you unless you need a confident protection dog. On the other hand, if a confident protection dog with balls of steel is what you wanted and this type of dog is what you got, you may be inclined to tell people about your dogs "shitty temperament" even though he is overall a nice pet dog...just not what you wanted. To me....for a dog to have good overall temperament, he must have sound nerves, with nerves being a specific piece of his overall temperament.
Originally posted by czechgsd: . . . . what is the difference between good temperament and good nerves.
The way I look at it is to think of nerves as a kind of pipeline or filter connecting temperament and environment in the dog with all being inter-related and expressed by the resulting behavior. IMO the nerve/pipeline/filter is more "fixed" (ie. what one is born with) while the temperament and environment are more variable and capable of shaping each other as they interact thru the nerve/pipeline/filter.
. . . . So if you don't have good nerves, even if you "start" with good temperament to start, the poor nerves will eventually serve to undermine the good temperament and vv. Bottom line is, I'm not sure you can have good temperament without good nerves in the long run. JMO.
When purchasing any product from Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. it is understood
that any and all products sold by Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. are sold in Dunn
County Wisconsin, USA. Any and all legal action taken against Leerburg Enterprises,
Inc. concerning the purchase or use of these products must take place in Dunn
County, Wisconsin. If customers do not agree with this policy they should not
purchase Leerburg Ent. Inc. products.
Dog Training is never without risk of injury. Do not use any of the products
sold by Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. without consulting a local professional.
The training methods shown in the Leerburg Ent. Inc. DVD’s are meant
to be used with a local instructor or trainer. Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. cannot
be held responsible for accidents or injuries to humans and/or animals.
Copyright 2010 Leerburg® Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. All photos and content on leerburg.com are part of a registered copyright owned by Leerburg Enterprise, Inc.
By accessing any information within Leerburg.com, you agree to abide by the
Leerburg.com Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Top
Previous Topic
Index
Next Topic
.jpg)
