Comparative Social Ecology of Feral Dogs and Wolves
Boitani, L. and Ciucci, P. 1995 ABSTRACT In this paper we compare some socio-ecological traits of feral dogs and wolves in order to assess the…
Author: Michael D'Abruzzo
Working Dogs: An Attempt to Produce a Strain of German Shepherds which Combines Working Ability and Beauty of Conformation – Elliott Humphrey, Lucien Warner 1934
An important early work describing important traits and breeding practices for the working German Shepherd.
Puppy Aptitude Test
This is a reflection of the Volhard’s most recent version of their puppy temperament test. You can find out more about the Volhard’s and their…
Fight Drive
This is reserved mostly toward competitors of “equal” or undetermined status. A dog in fight drive will perceive his target as a threat to something…
Defense Drive
In its pure form is the instinct to intimidate and use the least contact necessary to drive away a threat to a dog’s self, social…
Flight Drive
Not technically aggressive behavior, this is the instinct to remove self from a threatening situation. This is the most insecure drive and is the opposite…
Prey Drive
Prey drive encompasses all the behaviors which originate from the original instinct to hunt, kill, and dissect prey. More specifically this includes tracking, stalking, chasing,…
Bite Inhibition
Bite inhibition refers to a dog’s tendency to control the force of their bite when appropriate, such as during play, when giving a disciplinary bite,…
Pack Drive
Pack drive is a term used to describe a dog’s desire to be with and function as a unit with their “pack”. Like all traits…
Resource Guarder
“Resource guarder” is referred to as a temperament trait since puppies are born with varying degrees of this instinct to guard limited resources. It is…
Dominant vs Submissive
By definition dominant (dominance) and submissive (submission) refers to a role in a relationship. So technically it is possible for a dog to be dominant…
Social aggression
This is often referred to as aggression that is related to a conflict in the dominant/submissive relationship between two dogs or human and a dog.…
Hard and Soft Dogs
Generally, the terms “hard” and “soft” are used to describe how individual dogs respond to discipline. It should not be confused with how dominant/submissive a…
Game, Gameness, or “Game-bred”
The term “game” in dog temperament refers to a dog that seemingly has a disregard for injury, exhaustion, and death when in an aggressive state,…
Sharpness
Sharpness is a temperament term used mainly in working German Shepherd circles but can be used to refer to the temperament of any dog. There…