What with all this talk about temperament coming first when breeding it got me thinking. :-)

How do you determine what is a good or bad temperament ? There is the obvious, if the dog appears shy or nervous around people/other dogs, if they regularly show aggression towards people/other dogs, but what else? And if you see a dog behaving aggressively towards another dog, (dog or bitch) how do you decide whether or not this is poor temperament or just dog behaviour ?

I'm also wondering how temperaments are inherited ? I kind of understand how things like incorrect bites can be inherited but not sure about temperament.

Thankyou! :-)

You also have to add in the fact that what is correct temperament for one breed would be totally alien in another. :D

Lordy I never thought of that Brainless. I didn't realise that temperaments differed from breed to breed!

My old dictionary says Temperament, n. 1.Individual character of one's physical organisation permanenetly affecting the manner of acting, feeling, thinking, as a nervous ~ , the artistic ~ ,] sanguine, lymphatic or phlegmatic; choleric or bilious; melancholic or atrabilious ~

Strictly there isn't good or bad temperament but correct and incorrect.

Some breeds are aloof (not to be confused with nervousness) and some are very bold and in your face.

A Saluki that was in your face like a Boxer would be totally incorrect temperament.

You're right, Brainless (why did you decide on that moniker? )

A Mastiff should be "Calm, affectionate to owners, but capable of guarding".
A Dalmatian should be "Outgoing and friendly, not shy or hesitant, free from nervousness and aggression".

Two different temperaments for two different purposes.
:)

Yes ourbreed standard says:

Temperament - Friendly, intelligent and independant without any sign of nervousness.

Interestingly under Characteristics it says: A hardy hunting Spitz with a bold energetic disposition.

Now Temperament, disposition and Character are all different.

Regarding the inheritance part of your question: I would imagine that the temperament is only partially inherited. I am guessing that part comes from the way the mother is with her pups? If she gives out calm vibes when, for example, the vacuum cleaner is first heard, then the pups are reassured and are less fearful of new experiences? Just my opinion, but I think that the dam has a lot to do with the outcome.

Sarah

I personally find this fascinating, because, like you I always thought that temperament was more a question of 'nurture' rather than 'nature'.

However, since I kept two litter brothers, whose rearing was identical up until 6 months of age when one started being shown, I have noticed that their temperaments are markedly different. One is (and always has been) less outgoing than his 'hail-fellow-well-met' clown of a brother.

Their mother adores all people, likes other dogs, and is the most charming creature on the planet!

A question I too find absolutely fascinating, and i have always been in terested in the "nature versus nurture" debate too :)

Not dogs, but my guinea pigs - from the same litter, brought up the same - one shy one, one independent little madam (she was great!!! ) and a confident unfazed boss pig.

And what about the 2 little boys who were adopted at the age of I think it was about 3 and 7 - they had had a bad start but after that were given every love and care by their adoptive parents, but ended up on drugs, in prison etc.

My feeling is that both genetics and nurture play a strong part, although the scales may be weighted slightly in favour of one more than the other with individual animals. And we have all heard of dogs who are from an aggressive litter...whether the aggression was due to lack of socialisation etc (nurture) or genetics we may not always be able to tell.....

Lindsay

I dont think 'nurture' changes 'nature'. It can most certainly make things better or worse, but the basics everything are carried in the genes. Just look at inherited traits in humans! Just as in anything else, a puppy can take from either side of the pedigree but take from one side of the pedigree or the other it most certainly will. Were it not so then there would be no point in selecting a working dog from working stock.

Regards, John

Its the same way that humans can be extroverts and introverts. Temperaments can be inherited as genetics also determine personality but it can be partly shaped by the environment.

Interesting!!!! My older lab is what I'd call typical lab. Bouncy, outgoing, adores anyone and everyone and wants to show them how much she loves them by trying to nuzzle and lick them. Her daughter who I kept, is very shy, almost timid. She's fine once she knows someone, but very aloof and hides behind me. Since about 4 weeks old I could see she was a bit of a loner, as was one of her litter mates. While the rest of the litter would play tag and muck around together, these two would tend to do their own thing, but also played with the others on 'their' terms. The sire was also very outgoing and friendly. All the litter had loads of attention and socialising with family and friends. So I feel it must be more nature than nurture that decides their temperament.
Lorna

Claire,

There certainly is such a thing as poor temperament in dogs - just like there is in people. Poor temperament is when the dog is mentally incapable of adjusting its behaviour through nuture or training. There are some dogs that are born so fearful that they can never be trusted with people or other animals, for example. They might be okay 90 percent of the time -- but 10 percent of the time their fear becomes so overwhelming that nothing can stop them from reacting. The same with aggression. Again, like people, there may be chemical imbalances or other inherited physical problems that we cannot detect and are not correctable.

Stacey

Thank you everyone :-) Very interesting reading, I appreciate your replys. :-)

I would tend to say that these are mantally unbalanced individuals, and would call that character. for me a dog that is vicious has a character flaw, their temperament may be typical, i.e. lively, aloof etc. I think we tend to use temperametn to mean whether a dog has a sound mind, when strictly speaking this is not waht it means.

I think that if nature didn't play a huge part in temperament, then there wouldn't be breed characteristics to start with. Having said that, we all know that if a dog misses out on early socialisation that it has consquences for the rest of it's life, so I don't suppose we'll ever know whether nature or nurture plays the biggest part.

Something I've often wondered which is sort of related to this, is whether dogs can suffer from mental illness the way we do. After all, it's a common belief that mental illness is a chemical imbalance in the brain, so it's possible that dogs can have it too. And if dogs can suffer from it, then does that mean that medication could improve things, maybe some of these dogs with poor temperaments could improve with treatment, what do you think?

I'd be really interested in what you all think about that...