To be sure, Bongo, my rabbit loving dog, had never seen a rabbit before - this one was removed from a cat, wild. He knows the command "leave it".
When he finds rabbits out in the grass, he takes off after them - my dogs all have high prey drive. When I tell him "down" in that situation, he stops running - dead - and drops to the ground. He is also training in Schutzhund - along with my younger male. They have no problem placing their teeth on objects in the possession of people. At my command - and no problem taking their teeth off, at my command. It's not fearful aggression, and it's not necessarily a "natural" behavior - it's positive reinforcement of biting and holding the object in possession of a person - in the case of SchH, a bite sleeve. All of my dogs can be safely released around other stable dogs known or unknown - it's no problem. They don't assume the role of a submissive or shy omega as an AWD frequently does, however. They can all be released off leash around any person at any time, it's no problem for large men, small children or old ladies to play with my dogs - usually strangers, I'm a bit of a hermit
. Two have received therapy dog certification, Bongo will hopefully recieve his this autumn. All very different lines from distant countries. This is training and socialization - exposing and teaching how to act in all situations. Yes, they are family raised dogs, but with sufficient time spent on their own in runs when I am not at home...aren't most CSVs nowadays?