Tamaskan Dogs..

Gypsy Wolf · 14-07-2010, 15:43

Marcy,
FYI, in case no one mentioned it - the full grip and stability you see in your dogs' bitework is a manifestation of prey drive. It's in the full, confident grip, the "carry" and the desire to tug it away from the helper. A GOOD thing. Sometimes you will see (typically nervy Malinois or some DDR GSDs) "civil" or "defense" aggression in the sport - there's usually a different-sounding bark - more shrill, LOTS of teeth and spit and often coupled with more shallow grips and a lot of kill-shaking - even on the helper's arm! You will see if the sleeve is thrown, the dog will still want to go after the man - where as a "prey" dog just wants the toy! It is not preferred - not only due to the crappy bite, but also it is a more unstable sort of aggression - needs to be highly controlled.
It isn't always a bad thing, either, though... my first Malinois had a LOT of civil drive, but ONLY in appropriate situations. She was my "ribbon" dog - always placing in the top spots in all sorts of venues, we used her as the local SPCA's Demo Dog for their obedience program, she earned a Canine Good Citizen and even got a Therapy Dog certification. Obviously, she was a very safe dog. On the SchH field, though - make sure you have pants on.

14-07-2010, 15:43	#1
Gypsy Wolf Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Florida & Minnesota U.S. Posts: 252	Marcy, FYI, in case no one mentioned it - the full grip and stability you see in your dogs' bitework is a manifestation of prey drive. It's in the full, confident grip, the "carry" and the desire to tug it away from the helper. A GOOD thing. Sometimes you will see (typically nervy Malinois or some DDR GSDs) "civil" or "defense" aggression in the sport - there's usually a different-sounding bark - more shrill, LOTS of teeth and spit and often coupled with more shallow grips and a lot of kill-shaking - even on the helper's arm! You will see if the sleeve is thrown, the dog will still want to go after the man - where as a "prey" dog just wants the toy! It is not preferred - not only due to the crappy bite, but also it is a more unstable sort of aggression - needs to be highly controlled. It isn't always a bad thing, either, though... my first Malinois had a LOT of civil drive, but ONLY in appropriate situations. She was my "ribbon" dog - always placing in the top spots in all sorts of venues, we used her as the local SPCA's Demo Dog for their obedience program, she earned a Canine Good Citizen and even got a Therapy Dog certification. Obviously, she was a very safe dog. On the SchH field, though - make sure you have pants on.