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Gypsy Wolf · 14-07-2010, 15:26

To Rona -
Aggression is NOT the opposite of shy. Aggression is the "drive" to use force to meet a situation. Prey drive (chase, capture, kill, eat) is aggression, dominance displays, territorial, protection/defense of pack/puppies, FEAR (BAD CHARACTER) based behaviors all carry aggression.
I am speaking strictly as an Ethologist/Behaviorist. Aggression is not bad, and it is a NECESSARY component of most successful species. Who wins the fight? And the winner gets the resources and more chances to reproduce. The Romans did not conquer most of the known world with peace and love, and despite what they preach, neither did Christians. It was aggression.
In dogs, we harness it. We breed to bring it out. As we domesticated wild canids (or really, they domesticated themselves), we decided it was better for us to breed dogs that had aggression levels that trumped their "flight response" - one reason real wolves/high content hybrids are not successful as protection dogs - if you run away, you live to fight another day. Their "resources" are better spent somewhere else!
COURAGE is the opposite of "shyness" - the willingness to engage a threat using aggression.
Again, INAPPROPRIATE, uncontrolled aggression is the danger. Owners who do not understand behavior and allow insecure/dominant dogs to "take over" - FEAR-AGGRESSIVE dogs that have a "low threshhold" for stimulus and will display or even attack when there is really no threat...
CsVs HAD to have a certain level of aggression in order to perform the job they were bred for. This is part of who they are. To breed for a temperament that carries none of this is a disservice to the breed, and really is NOT characteristic of the CsV, IMHO. Might as well have a Saarloos!
That is one reason I am a fan of working titles and temperament tests - to preserve and maintain the working drive of the breed.
I am not advocating breeding solely for a "grip" or a "low threshhold" (a lot of "breeders" do not understand behavior and aggression and breed incorrect temperament thinking that because his fear-aggressive dog display/bites it is indicative of correct character) I see this in Malinois all the time and all it does is produce an unsafe, unbalanced animal. But to remove correct aggression from our breed is wrong, too. A Unicorn without a horn is just a horse... all the magic is lost.

14-07-2010, 15:26	#51
Gypsy Wolf Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Florida & Minnesota U.S. Posts: 252	To Rona - Aggression is NOT the opposite of shy. Aggression is the "drive" to use force to meet a situation. Prey drive (chase, capture, kill, eat) is aggression, dominance displays, territorial, protection/defense of pack/puppies, FEAR (BAD CHARACTER) based behaviors all carry aggression. I am speaking strictly as an Ethologist/Behaviorist. Aggression is not bad, and it is a NECESSARY component of most successful species. Who wins the fight? And the winner gets the resources and more chances to reproduce. The Romans did not conquer most of the known world with peace and love, and despite what they preach, neither did Christians. It was aggression. In dogs, we harness it. We breed to bring it out. As we domesticated wild canids (or really, they domesticated themselves), we decided it was better for us to breed dogs that had aggression levels that trumped their "flight response" - one reason real wolves/high content hybrids are not successful as protection dogs - if you run away, you live to fight another day. Their "resources" are better spent somewhere else! COURAGE is the opposite of "shyness" - the willingness to engage a threat using aggression. Again, INAPPROPRIATE, uncontrolled aggression is the danger. Owners who do not understand behavior and allow insecure/dominant dogs to "take over" - FEAR-AGGRESSIVE dogs that have a "low threshhold" for stimulus and will display or even attack when there is really no threat... CsVs HAD to have a certain level of aggression in order to perform the job they were bred for. This is part of who they are. To breed for a temperament that carries none of this is a disservice to the breed, and really is NOT characteristic of the CsV, IMHO. Might as well have a Saarloos! That is one reason I am a fan of working titles and temperament tests - to preserve and maintain the working drive of the breed. I am not advocating breeding solely for a "grip" or a "low threshhold" (a lot of "breeders" do not understand behavior and aggression and breed incorrect temperament thinking that because his fear-aggressive dog display/bites it is indicative of correct character) I see this in Malinois all the time and all it does is produce an unsafe, unbalanced animal. But to remove correct aggression from our breed is wrong, too. A Unicorn without a horn is just a horse... all the magic is lost.