Temperament

[Miss B]

When it comes to temperament, how much do you feel is nature vs nurture?

How important is temperament to you in your breeding program?

[centitout]

Temp is right there with health for me.Most of mine go to family homes(i do prefer that) so it is a crucial thing with me.But they way they are trained/socialised by the new owner IMO has more of an impact than the 8 weeks at the breeders.

I spend a lot of time socialising my pups,but if that isnt continued and the dog ends up sitiing in a back yard with no training/stimulation-what are you going to end up with?

I would never use a dog that was HA,or very DA,no matter how well bred,how many champs etc.

[sandgrubber]

As with Centitout, most of my pups go to family homes.

My priorities, in order, are health, temperament, and conformation; a range of temperament is ok. Some people are athletic and want a fun-loving boisterous pup. Others want something more cuddly and sooky. I have found, in the 10 years I've been breeding, that the sire has a large effect on temperament: different litters from the same dam appear to have come from a different mold. I steer away from boys that are known to be extremely stubborn, high strung, or, god forbid HA or DA (almost never seen in Labbies). If I expect, based on sire and dam, a litter to be more active, or more placid, I tell the puppy buyers my expectations. Also try to screen temperament and give people the pup that better suits their wishes. Of course my predictions aren't always right. Sometimes the apparently retiring pup turns out to be a maniac when he or she is no longer in competition with littermates.

Of course nurture is critical. But that's not under my control past the first eight weeks. I try to select homes that have lots of time and love to give their puppy and give good advice, but ultimately socialisation is up to the family.

Edited February 16, 2010 by sandgrubber

[WreckitWhippet]

In my eyes, type, temperament, structure and soundness, go hand in hand. I don't prioritise one over the other, I'm looking to breed dogs and bitches that are the complete package, I'm not prepared to sacrafice type on favour of a "nice" temperament or the reverse.

I believe that I give the pups a start in life ( through the careful selection of parents and how I raise them ) that should enable them to be well rounded canine citizens.

No matter what I do and what traits they inherit from their parents, there is always the potential for a new owner to screw them up, through neglect, ignorance, poor choices etc.

I hope that I select the best possible puppy buyers to finish the job that I've started.

[Mystiqview]

Temperament is the same as health and conformation. No doubt about it. 99% of pups go to pet homes. The last thing you want to be known for is breeding dogs with bad temperaments or a dog you bred has made the news as it has attacked someone.

I think some is genetic and much is environmental.

[ellz]

I like to believe that because I know what I am doing 99.9999999% of the puppies I breed (in either breed) LOOK like they are supposed to.

So, in view of the fact that usually the majority of the puppies that I breed, with the exception of those I keep for myself, end up in companion homes.....I breed for temperament and soundness first and foremost.

It doesn't matter how beautiful something is, if you can't live with it, it has NO place on earth.

So....to answer the question directly, I choose my breeding program for good temperament and would never breed from something that is fearful, aggressive or just plain crazy and I nurture the puppies in each litter in the best way that I can. I expose them to as many of the daily pitfalls of life as I can and they are all reared inside the home being exposed to the normal things that they would experience in most families (with a few curly situations usually thrown in to really test them).

I send them to their new homes as best prepared as I can possibly make them. What happens after that is up to the individuals. Either they continue as I have started, or they don't. But I am quite comfortable in the knowledge of the time and love and energy that I have put into them up until the time that they leave home at around 9 weeks of age and know that I have done everything I can, and more, so that they can be a productive member of a family and society.

More than that, I simply cannot do.

[Trisven13]

Purely on the question of nature -v- nurture I used to believe that nurture played a 50/50 role but I know believe that it plays a much smaller role.

Through the rescue we've raised a number of litters that have been whelped in care. The mothers have all had spectacular temperaments and the pups have been raised in my home, indoors until old enough to be outdoors. They have had loads of handling, I've followed the rule of 7 etc etc etc. We have had one litter where I've personally pts 2 pups at 7 months of age with severe dog aggression and strong prey drive towards children. I know that one other has had dog to dog issues that are managed and another that has had loads of training but still has issues and will never play happily with dogs she didn't grow up with (behaviouralist assessment). Three others that I see regularly have beautiful natures and no temperament issues whatsoever. I can never swear to it of course but I'm sure that Dad must have had temperament issues. Of the four pups that went on to have temperament problems, in hindsight, all of them were always the most timid despite lots of socialisation and handling.

[angelsun]

I have always beleived that crappy temperaments produce the same....even having one dog of very strong or questionable temperament, will often result, in spite of all the best training and socialization and good things in a home, a dog that will be a problem.

HOWEVER, I have also seen exceptional dogs be screwed up by owners in as little as a month (I had one dog tossed out back and basically forgotten=separation anxiety, another dog confined in a crate or behind a door of a small room=claustrophobic)

I still beleive that genetics plays a big part of things, however enviroment can play a bigger part both good and bad....as many in dogs a while, we've seen dogs with issues be turned around and live settled lives without issues.

I don't think that it's black and white in this subject...there is a lot of grey area deciding the answer to that question. I will still work to find the best temperamented dogs out there to breed with, but I know that it's only part of the equation in the long run.

[whippets]

Mostly Nature. You can raise a whole litter the same and they have different temperaments. Which is why breeders advise new owners which dog in a litter would best suit their needs.

In my last litter I sold a quiet (not timid at all) placid dog to an ederly couple and I sold another outgoing dog to a family full of sporty teenagers. The dog and the kids all go nuts together. A placid, quiet dog, I believe, wouldn't do so good in such a noisy household.

oops forgot the 2nd part of the qu:

I breed for Temperament, type and overall soundness. They all hold equal importance.

Edited February 19, 2010 by whippets