Elements of Temperament
Drives, Thresholds and Nerves

Part One: What Is Temperament?

By Joy Tiz, MS, JD

“My dog has a wonderful temperament! . . . “ Except she really hates strangers.” “I just got the perfect stud male! His temperament is the best, it’s absolutely perfect: he has no defense drive in him at all!” “Oh, I would never breed a dog that had prey drive, they’re vicious!”

Yes, all of these statement were actually made by real people. All of them German Shepherd (GSD) fanciers and breeders. We talk all the time about the importance of temperament. What are well all talking about? Are any of us even talking about the same thing?

When we talk about temperament, we are referring to a collection of drives, thresholds, traits and instincts that are inherited and innate.

Yes, it’s true. Temperament is a function of genetics. It is inherited, not developed. A dog’s core temperament never changes. Some behaviors can be modified through training, but the temperament itself never changes. For example, a high energy dervish of a dog isn’t going to learn to be a laid back, low energy dog. But, the dog can be taught to control his energy, to an extent.

Most dog owners absolutely refuse to believe this. If I only had a dollar for every time someone has told me “It’s all in how they’re raised!” . . . No, it’s not. It’s all in how their DNA came together. A dog with foul temperament will always be a dog with foul temperament, no matter how wonderful the environment. A dog with sound, stable temperament will always be a sound, stable dog, even in a lousy environment.

Good early handling, training and socialization will help develop desirable traits in the dog, but those traits have to be there. Ball drive is a good example, since it forms the foundation for so many types of work. . Some dogs aren’t interested in chasing a ball. If the dog does enjoy ball games, a good trainer can build that up and bring it out to it’s highest possible level, but the drive itself is innate. One cannot install a drive.

Real GSD people are always seeking to produce sound working dogs. An understanding of temperament is crucial to developing a breeding program that makes sense and will preserve working abilities rather than dump more pets into an already overcrowded world.

Temperament Testing

In the struggle to find good working prospects, the question of utilizing various temperament tests comes up. In general, the standardized tests can be of some value, but don’t put too much faith in them. Some are truly dreadful, like the Volhard Puppy Temperament Testâ. This one is bad news, not only because the Volhards so completely mislabel various elements of temperament, but because the test items themselves are too stressful for many puppies. For instance, on the restraint tests, if the pup freezes in place, this is labled as “independence”. Hardly. The dog is showing avoidance behavior. Some of their test items are innocuous enough, such as tests of social attraction in which you kneel and call the pup to come to you. But, other items, designed to identify alleged future dominant terrorists are traumatic for a weak nerved pup. Don’t be rolling over and pinning other people’s puppies, please. At best this test is misleading, at worst it subjects puppies to needless stress for no good reason.

The Volhards also developed the Puppy Aptitude Testâ which is something of an improvement. The test is designed to identify those pups who have a special talent for obedience. They don’t realize it, of course but they’re actually testing a bit of prey drive.

The Volhard stuff has really hung on. To this day, you’ll hear local park obedience instructors diagnosing all aggression as “dominance”.

A far more useful test is the P.A.W.S. Working Dog Evaluation, by Jona Decker which unabashedly tests prey drive.

There is no perfect test, some are more horrendous than others. Experienced trainers of working dogs eventually come up with their own system for evaluating pups and young adult prospects. The best predictor of temperament is history. What are the pup’s parents like? Their parents? Grandparents? Keeping in mind that temperament is inherited, look to the ancestors as your best source of information.

Also, keep in mind that puppies are not manufactured in a factory. Just because a dog is a GSD does not mean that by definition, the dog will be able to work. I get calls from dog owners all the time who can’t understand why their dogs aren’t good watch dogs, protection dogs, obedience dogs, whatever. One typical call was from a man who had a six month old GSD puppy. He had purchased the pup specifically to train in Personal Protection. He needed some help with this because the pup is scared of strangers. Whenever he has a visitor, the pup runs and hides. Out on a walk, if approached by a stranger, the pup cowers and hides behind his owner. He still honestly believes that all he needs is the right trainer. I asked a few questions and discovered that the pup was bred from AKC American showlines. The AKC imposes no requirement of any type of working title being earned prior to breeding. The pup’s parents had never had protection training. Nor had the pup’s grandparents. There was nothing in this pup’s pedigree to suggest he would have what it takes for protection training. Yet, the unscrupulous breeder was more than happy to take this guy’s money and tell him that his pups would make great protection dogs.

Early Handling

What then, is the impact of early handling, training and socializing, if temperament is genetic? Why bother? To use a human analogy, why can’t all humans become Olympic athletes? Because not all humans have the right genetic equipment. But, if you are blessed with the right stuff, the right training can develop those innate abilities to their highest level.

It’s similar with dogs. For instance, a trainer purchased an 8 week old GSD puppy who was completely kennel raised. She had minimal human contact at the kennel, her only interactions being feeding and cleaning times. Yet, at 8 weeks, this bitch pup was very interested in and drawn toward humans. The trainer was hoping to train this pup for Therapy work, so he chose to develop this aspect of the dog’s personality. Each time the pup approached a stranger in a friendly manner, the trainer rewarded her lavishly. Not surprisingly, the pup grew into an exceptionally outgoing, social dog. The raw genetic material was there all along, what the trainer did was simply build on what was already there.

Each dog has a personality, which is different than temperament. Personality is developed through interaction with other living creatures, primarily humans. Pups who are raised in enriched environments tend to have well developed personalities, with maximum emotional range and depth. Dogs who have been kenneled too much often have a flatness to them, they lack the animation and expression we like to see.

Thus, socialization and early handling really do count, not because they can change temperament, but because a good handler can build on the innate traits that are already there. And, socialization is part of personality development. Good early handling will make a strong dog even better and bring the weaker dog up to the extent to which the dog is capable.

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