Anxiety And Genetics

[wheres my rock]

weak nerves are genetic and can seem lke anxiety a dogs sbility to cope and bounce back can also be genetic and other problems then stem from this

Sadly many breeders dont really understand temprement as a a breeder what their dogs temps are like and you'll often get the response they arent aggressive or timid but these are just two small components of temprement

I dont think any breed should be breed for aloofness and it should be removed from standard for dogs to fit well into society aloofness leaves to big of a gap for breeders to breed nervousness dogs and hide behind the standard all dogs should be able to tolerate being approached and touched by a person regardless of what a standard says

its funny how breeders will breed other faults but hide behind the standard when it comes to poor temprement

Its funny we just had this discussion about gsps and the amount of show bred dogs that arent steady under gun and have anxiety issues over excitability and aggression and which lines seem to be worse and were pinpointing certain stud dogs use over the years with crap temprement

selties are another example so many are nervy dogs and the breeders acall it aloof my whippet was aloof he didnt care about other epopel and dogs but he certainly never backced away from epople or showed signs of anxiety if soemone wanted to pat him he just wasnt phased that is aloof not run and hide under th couch because soemone entered the room

In my experience a lot of tempremtn issues go back to poor breeding and weak nerves sadly until breeders atrting putting more thought into what a good temprement is it will continue to be an issue

Maybe we should be pushing for ability tests and temprement tests to make up champions so dogs that carry that label are sound in all manners f speaking not just pretty dogs

The gsd club have soething in place and i think its a great start to making breeders look at the whole dog in europe it used to be that to make up a chamion in a gundog you needed to have a gundog title not sure what at least this showe the dog was sound under gun and could perform its job

[leopuppy04]

selties are another example so many are nervy dogs and the breeders acall it aloof my whippet was aloof he didnt care about other epopel and dogs but he certainly never backced away from epople or showed signs of anxiety if soemone wanted to pat him he just wasnt phased that is aloof not run and hide under th couch because soemone entered the room

Exactly! An aloof dog is neither nervous or shy - they just won't readily go up to a stranger - they aren't interested in plastering themselves all over them . It is a pity though as many breeders don't understand this (like you have said) and thus - if the dog backs away or shows signs of 'fear' they say - oh but it is the breed trait - they are meant to be reserved.....

[wheres my rock]

yup and its annoying many breeds are being ruined by breders ignoring temptrement over looks i guess its easier to hide temprement in the show ring than structure you can teach a nervouse dog to tolerate being handled an aggressive dog to behae in the ring but you cant chnage cow hocks however if soeone is loking for a lifelong comapnion they could live wiht a dog with cow hocks but a dog with temprement issues often ends up put down or int he pound

Fair enough environent has a part but when you start with a solid base its much easier to devlope a confident happy memeber of society

[dogdayz]

As an owner of one stressed out weimie boy

Over the past few years we have gone thorugh separartion anxiety...glad to say he snapped out of that one by about 18 months...in terms of addressing it..we always knew its an issue in weims, and from day 1 left him for periods alone...but it was always there...i think what finally cured it was we left him indoors with a big bone and box of toys, instead of outside with bone and toys. Of all the breeds Ive experienced i have to say this dog is the most attached to his bed i have ever met, and clearly for him his indoor bed is is ultimate safety zone.

We had dog fear aggression which stemmed from extreme anxiety, which in turn arose as a result of a dog attack at 7 months. Lots of therapy has turned that around...he now plays with everyone

Very nervous about being handled by people...too many vet visits at a year old i believe contributed to this, as he was show trained and handled as a pup without problem.

Now at 4 years there has been a huge turnaround in him, i dont know if its a result simply of maturing or not, but he is now happy and confident, even scoring 10/10 on stand for exams.

While maturity may be it...i personally believe a lot has come from his going Tracking...i think it was something that came so naturally to him, he was never under pressure and could always acheive. Absolutely adores it, and just wants to get out and track, people and dogs around just faded from significance, and i think that has passed on through into all aspects of life. He is more confident that he can do right.

As to the original question of is it genetic, i met both his parent before and subsequent and there has been no evidence of weak nerves in them. I believe it may be more the genetics that say i want to work, and i want to please......its more like some people who have fear of failure it gets in the way of them succeeding.

[Rom]

Very vaild point. My two can sometimes be 'anxious' about getting something wrong - but there are so many variations to anxiety itself. Even though I know which type Cosmolo is talking about - perhaps they are all related.... soo.... if you find the gene that affects anxiety, breed away from it, and you have to an extent changed another factor in the dog (more headstrong perhaps?). Gotta love genetics - everything influences something else one way or another

So is anxiety a product of a comparatively low threshold to stress and pain and is it this that makes a dog 'biddable'?

Hmm... some substance to this yes, but there is still 'aloof' in my mind which isn't aggression (fear or otherwise) at all. For example, Aussies are supposed to be reserved. The correct 'reserved' aussie for me is one that doesn't readily go up to a stranger and screams "pat me!" (ok - so that rules Leo out

And if the above is true, then wouldn't true 'aloofness' be a product of confident independence or a high threshold to stress and pain? When I picture an 'aloof' dog I see a dog that has an attitude of "Sure, you can pat me if you like, but I don't need you to"

And just to complicate things more....I guess its possible that a dog could waver between anxious and aloof depending on the situation.

[leopuppy04]

Very vaild point. My two can sometimes be 'anxious' about getting something wrong - but there are so many variations to anxiety itself. Even though I know which type Cosmolo is talking about - perhaps they are all related.... soo.... if you find the gene that affects anxiety, breed away from it, and you have to an extent changed another factor in the dog (more headstrong perhaps?). Gotta love genetics - everything influences something else one way or another

So is anxiety a product of a comparatively low threshold to stress and pain and is it this that makes a dog 'biddable'?

Nah - I don't think that this is what makes a dog biddable - there would be many genes that makes up that factor - coz you can have 'biddable' anxious dogs and confident yet biddable dogs. Personality would have to be one of the most complex parts of genetics - there are so many links between each other, not to mention, so many variations.

Hmm... some substance to this yes, but there is still 'aloof' in my mind which isn't aggression (fear or otherwise) at all. For example, Aussies are supposed to be reserved. The correct 'reserved' aussie for me is one that doesn't readily go up to a stranger and screams "pat me!" (ok - so that rules Leo out

And if the above is true, then wouldn't true 'aloofness' be a product of confident independence or a high threshold to stress and pain? When I picture an 'aloof' dog I see a dog that has an attitude of "Sure, you can pat me if you like, but I don't need you to"

And just to complicate things more....I guess its possible that a dog could waver between anxious and aloof depending on the situation.

Yes - I think you are exactly right - aloofness could also be pure confidents - I don't need constant tactile attention because i'm completely sure of myself.

Definately - a dog could easily change it's 'emotions' - think of a dog that is perfectly confident and comfortable in it's own home - take it out and it falls to pieces!