Dog training question: place vs. bed vs. crate vs. target vs. ??

[ShrekDawg]

growling is simply communication. the dog is saying "there is something going on" you have to read the context of the situation and the rest of the body language to know if it's a warning, fear, aggression or simply "hey I don't want to be messed with right now"
Yes, you can get a good breeder of showlines who has dogs with good temperament. The main difference of WGSL and WGWL is going to be the purpose of breeding and the temperament selected for (of course) but most especially in looks.
WGSL tend to have roached backs and deep red color. WGWL tend to be bigger boned, especially if you have a lot of DDR behind the pedigree, and bigger blocky heads. There are actually very few dogs left that are pure DDR these days. The majority are going to have other working lines in the pedigree such as Czech or WGWL.

I don't do a lot of research in the BBS. I know that temperament and purpose wise they are different than GSDs. But if you like the GSD temperament but the look of a white dog definitely check out UKC.

Honestly, you don't need a "protective" dog in most instances unless you are a person who has need of an armed body guard. An obedient dog, especially one that will bark on command, is intimidation enough for most people to pass you by. I teach my dogs a "watch" command. Whatever I point at they are supposed to look at and there are few people who don't find it a good reason to walk on by. Couple that with solid basic obedience and people assume that the dog is something to be reckoned with.

Thank you so much for all the info! Are all WGSL roach backed? And does that impact their health or lifespan at all?

And I can't find the story, I thought it was in one of two threads on a GSD forum but I don't think it is and can't remember which or find it because I cleared my history. But anyway, I remember the details, just was hoping to find the post to copy.

But basically it was about how they think that their old dog would have been great at bitework because when guests came over he would do almost a bark and hold on them. Never bit or barked but held them at the door and kinda nudged with his nose. Kept his nose right at their arm and looked up at them. And he would do that for a few minutes until they called him away. And he was never trained to do that.

And thanks, I'll check them out! I think if I'm gonna get a GSD though I do eventually want a "real" one and then maybe eventually get a BBS once they've been separate longer. I do love the deep red coloration of the West German dogs.

And hmm, that's a good point. You could teach them to bark on command? And that stare is a good idea!

I think you're right, I'd probably rather have a well trained, obedient dog that can bark and stare, or even lunge/look vicious if necessary, on command but is not actually vicious or overprotective and takes matters into their own hands. That seems kind of uncontrollable or dangerous?

 

[PirateGirl]

most people train the "head on the paws" or for the dog to roll slightly onto the side vs a sphinx down because it's a more relaxed position and means that the dog is not keyed up ready to jump up and go at a moments notice.

yes all you need to do to get your title is pass the minimum standard. Instead of competing against the other dogs, compete against yourself and try to improve with every entry. 3 qualifying runs is all it takes to get your title. And the title is equal rather you finished with 3 perfect scores or hit the minimum score.

For the protection training, one thing that those involved don't realize is that it's not about training the dog to bite but more about teaching the dog NOT to bite. You teach that tug is fun. That it's fun to bite the sleeve or take down the bad guy but the actual reward comes for the "out" - letting go of whatever he is bitting. The protection or working dog that can't be a family pet in his down time is less common than the dog that leaves work or the sport ring and chills out with his family playing with the kids.

Yes. Agreed. The head down is a calmer more relaxed thing. It takes longer for the dog to get to this point. The next step is rolling onto her side, even more relaxed. We also trained the sit and look at me, focus on me. For us they are used in different situations. My dog is an Aussie/Catahoula mix, high energy, and leary of strangers. Most of our work with the trainer was about calming behaviors. Calming in the house and car, laying down, slowing the heart rate, not wrestling or jumping or in the kitchen or chasing the cat etc. And focus on me to stay calm/redirect the nervous energy when there is "stranger danger". So if we are out on a walk and someone scary approaches, we go into sit and focus on me and ignore the stranger. Again, for us the focus is about calm, otherwise her response is to charge and circle the person fur up barking, not many people are ok being charged by a dog like this and we like to spend a lot of time off leash in the National Forest. These calming behaviors, lying down, or focusing on me translate into lots of our every day situations. The trainer essentially trained me to train the dog. When we got our first cat and when we got our chickens we were easily able to take the calming behaviors the dog had already learned and train her to ignore/be calm around the cat and around the chickens despite how exciting they are. Sit and focus on me becomes things like not approaching people on the trail, not running up to cars in the driveway, ignoring the person who comes to the door, waiting to go through doors instead of knocking over the person who opens it or bolting through, waiting to get out of the car in parking lots, waiting until command to go get food/water and not getting under foot (ideally). All of these things are extensions of the basic concept of the dog controlling her energy until I say she is free. This is not something that is easy for a high energy dog. But then we do fun things too that use lots of energy. Fetch, catch, frisbee, dock diving, etc.