Ive worked plenty of civil dogs for different LEO depts.And some that werent, "equipment oriented". One of my favorite all time dogs Ive worked is a tall long legged Mal. Ive bragged on what a great dog it is many times. When talking about the dog to someone that has never seen it they will ask if he's civil. Here is where my qquestion is. What is a truly civil dog. I know what a truly civil dogs do.Some dogs are obviousely civil. This Mal I like loves to bite more than anything. Its NOT equipment oriented. It will go thru hll or high water to get the bite.Hes not a defensive dog. Tons of confidence,dominant dog.Lots of prey drive. A prey monster.Will not come off of the bite no matter what you do.Does being a prey monster that loves to bite more than anything over ride the term civil dog. This dog has a handful of street bites that were nice bites. Do you just call this dog civil. What I usually refer to as civil dogs are usually dogs that have some sharpness, you can see and work the defense in them, and really want to beat you.This being ddifferent from the prey monster that seems to be biting for the pure enjoyment of biting.

I've heard some of the LEO club members refer to certain dogs as "civil". The first thought that goes thru my mind is "Nice puppy, can I pet your cute widdle ears?" So what is a "civil" dog in the K9 jargon. What defines "Patrol Dog" "Guard Dog" "PPD" and,I've heard no one here use the term,"Attack Dog"? I've also heard the term "Suspicious" in discribing a Police k9. I know somebody out there has the working definitions for us newbies <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Well Im just a novice but my definition of "civil" is a dog that wants to bite someone from puppyhood on.I said wants to , not will.You can proof a dog off equipment but I consider "civil" to be a natural tendency in the dog.Sharpness has been described best by VC in another thread.I like the term "social aggression" which is ,for me anyway,a blend of drives and nerves and dominant and confident social behavior.Thats just my take and Im a newbie too.Compared too some of these old dudes anyways. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I guess if you wanted the term broken down in it's simplest form, a civil dog is a dog who will bite a man irrelevent of the presence of protection equipment or not.

Then you can read a little bit more into the meaning and say that the dog must have the attituded that he is fighting the man, that he is driven to engage the man in a real fight.

I tend to use the term to describe the dog's attitude of wanting to fight the man, not just the dog's ability to bite anywhere on the body without protection equipment.

A dog can bite someone just about anywhere and still be motivated by prey, he just see's the man is a big prey object. It doesn't really indicate that he has the desire to run up and start a fight with the guy.

I dont really like to use the term "civil" because to me its kind of vague.Ask 10 different dog persons and get 10 similar but different answers.There are better terms to describe those traits.Ive seen several dogs,as most of you have, that people say is very very civil.95% of tham I could walk right up to and pet.Some of them came up to me and wanted some lovin.If VC says he has a civil dog though,Ill just stay in the truck! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Greg

I think you just answered your own question. A dog can be social, and civil at the same time. There was a huge thread on here last year in ref to social aggression. I believe a dog can be a little sharp and civil as well. Its akin to fight drive. You have to see the dog exhibit the civil nature to confirm that it is there. Personally, I believe that civil traits and fight drive go hand in hand, but not neccessarily always together. You will find one without the other at times.

Howard

Every really nice, truly civil dog I’ve ever run into has that wee bit of sharpness in him.