temperament

[foxdropper 17,092]

What peoples opoinions on how much a pup is influenced by the amount and type of work it receives in its first year.

[Kye 77]

I dont know about how much you can change a dogs personailty?..

 

I just brought a dog over from the UK...i dont know how old it is exactly (its two this winter i think?)...when i spoke to the previous owner (who WAS a mate, :realmad: ) i asked him how the dog was with stock, people, other dogs etc..

His words where.."To be honest Kye, the dogs a c**t!..he will kill any and everything, and if he cant kill it, he will fight it!"..

So im thinking, "Great"!..lol.

 

Take the dog out into the yard and introduce him to ours one at a time...all fine, just a few corrections...when introduced to our Staff, he realy wanted to roll!...a few harsher corrections later, they where ok, if not best mates!..

 

Next onto the chickens and goats...he was giving them a stern look, so he got corrected.

 

IMO, the guy who owned him tolerated/allowed the dogs bad behaviour...but i dont keep fighters, or stock killers...so the dog WILL learn...imo, there is no exscuse for either...he cost me alot of money to get over here...but if he is a fighter, that will be it...touch wood, its all been good so far!...maybe because of his new surroundings, he is pulling the wool over my eyes?...once he has settled, he might start getting alot more cocky, and get a little big for his boots....its just summat i have to keep on top of..

 

I think that because i entered my red bitch early, she is softer than if i had entered her at a later date...having said that, she impress' me more every chance she gets, so i 'aint complaining!..lol.

 

Kye,..

[Guest Stevie D]

I think you can definitely influence a terrier's behaviour by the amount of work you put into him early on.

But you can also wreck certain types by giving them work before they're ready for it.

I don't know if you could change the way they're going to work but you can influence it by the way you start them.

 

Stevie

[foxdropper 17,092]

Kye-Hope the new dog settles in mate .

The starting of a pup too early is what changes them ,I think.If the pup is of, shall we say a mean disposition,starting it too young CAN produce a headbanger that goes great guns for a couple of seasons and then is sickened by it.A pup of a quieter disposition CAN be put off and needs re-entering with care at a later stage .Theres been a lot of discussion about entering on here ,but what signs should the newcomer look for in choosing that moment .I have my own ideas but what are yours ?

 

I think you can definitely influence a terrier's behaviour by the amount of work you put into him early on.

But you can also wreck certain types by giving them work before they're ready for it.

I don't know if you could change the way they're going to work but you can influence it by the way you start them.

 

Stevie

 

Stevie D- Could you not make a strong worker even harder by giving it easy type digs so its confidence grows faster than its experience or, teach a headbanger restraint by starting it at the deap end?.

[Guest grubygrafter]

I think that because i entered my red bitch early, she is softer than if i had entered her at a later date...having said that, she impress' me more every chance she gets, so i 'aint complaining!..lol.

 

what makes you say that kye. i dont know how anyone can know these things as once early entered you cant go back with the same dog and try entering it at a date when it is maturer.once that dog has engaged its first foe thats it as far as i can understand so we will never know how it would have affected it being entered at a later date. not splitting hairs but ive heard others say the same thing and often wondered.

 

i have a dog out of a line that is notoriuos for being qiuck to anger. and it is almost cerainly genetic. and almost imposible to sort . but can be controlled to an extent. it is imo one of the ingrediant that make them work . in this line. anyway. cs

 

i do think the entering prosess is very important and some can enter terriers with a high success rate whilst others fail more than they enter. usualy blameing the dogs.

[foxdropper 17,092]

i do think the entering prosess is very important and some can enter terriers with a high success rate whilst others fail more than they enter. usualy blameing the dogs.

 

 

i do think the entering prosess is very important and some can enter terriers with a high success rate whilst others fail more than they enter. usualy blameing the dogs.

[Kye 77]

I could be wrong mate...

The red bitch was hell for a puppy...she was killing rats (and i dont mean a few) with aggression at the age of 14 weeks...buy the time she was 8 months she was the best ratter i ever had...she killed hundreds.

At 5 1/2 months she killed a 2lb mink buy herself...she got bitten up real bad, but she didnt even cry out once...

She self entered at eight months to ground...i was just walking her and she popped down a earth...she was going at it fairly...got her out, and then a week later, she went down another hole that no one new about...she was just going carzy for it!..

Took her to the states, and let her see a Ground Hog at ten months...imo, it messed with her head...she tryed to draw it, and got nipped a few times...then she just went to baying...i think she had been so used to getting it her own way, she just didnt know how to react!?...i could be wrong, im far from an exspert!..

Since then she has had half a dozen Ground Hogs, some coon, and a Bobcat...i was very happy with her last performance on the Bobcat...i think if i had dug to her at 16-18 months she would have been a harder bitch...just my opinion...like i said, i could be wrong?..

All the best..

Kye,..

[Guest oneredtrim]

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Edited January 19, 2008 by oneredtrim

[Guest Stevie D]

Hi Foxdropper, I think a "strong" worker will be that way no matter what, but if you control the first few conflicts, he might learn not to be so wreckless and hopefully pick his moment without getting as badly damaged as they sometimes do. I wouldn't enter any terrier before a year anyway, but one that I thought was gonna be "wild" might have to wait much longer (depending on the time of year). That first conflict, in my opinion, is very important, and the second one, even more.

 

Stevie

[Guest stantheman]

Interesting?

[Kane 2]

Hi Foxdropper, I think a "strong" worker will be that way no matter what, but if you control the first few conflicts, he might learn not to be so wreckless and hopefully pick his moment without getting as badly damaged as they sometimes do. I wouldn't enter any terrier before a year anyway, but one that I thought was gonna be "wild" might have to wait much longer (depending on the time of year). That first conflict, in my opinion, is very important, and the second one, even more.

 

Stevie

 

Funny that Stevie,with the type of terrier I like to work the longer you leave them after their 1st dig (generaly an easy shallow earth) the harder they will be .I had 2 brothers 1 was a bad scrapper but I liked him so I gave his brother to a [bANNED TEXT] and entered the one I kept early in an attempt to calm him.The brother came out with us very rarely had one dig and was then left for 2 years.The one I kept was in all honesty worked to hard in his 1st and 2nd season but he learnt when to use his voice and when he didnt need to.I got the other brother back at 2 years and he was entered he was reckless to say the least never used his voice but we dug to him successfully on many occasions.

A pup out of the dog I kept enterd to a fox at 8 months old and killed it (an undersized barron vixen)now this pup will have to wait 5 months before it has another look and it will have to be well supervised as she IMHO will be over confident.

I know this wasnt about kennel management etc but temperament has a lot to do with this.Feeding and exercise can have as much effect,good or bad on a terriers temperament as work does.

[socks 32,253]

i have been speaking to a few good lads about this recently and i have come to the conclusion that a dog left untill adulthood will be a better prospect in the long run ... yes we have all had game pups taht have wanted to enter and have faired ok ... but what we have to remember is that they are PUPS and allthough they want to enter and they look physicaly capable they wont be mentally capable .... i honestly believe taht leaving a dog untill its 18 months to two years of age before entering will give you a much better worker in the years to come .......................

[Guest Stevie D]

Hi Kane, I agree with a lot of what you say there . I prefer to get a young dog a good run of quarry once he's been started, that's why I don't mind waiting a bit 'til I give him his first. I think the second dig is important 'cos he now knows what's in front of him so you can gauge his reaction to some extent. So I'm normally keen to get a second (and 3rd etc) dig as soon as I can.

I've had terriers in the past which I let enter early, 8, 9, 10 months. I prefer to let them be a pup nowadays and only start them when I think they're ready mentally.

At the moment I have a 15month old bitch who is very immature and has been left 'til the coming season.

Her half sister is 9months old and is much more mature and could probably handle a fox right now. I'll start her along with the older bitch.

 

All the best

Stevie

[roybo 2,873]

Hi Kane, I agree with a lot of what you say there . I prefer to get a young dog a good run of quarry once he's been started, that's why I don't mind waiting a bit 'til I give him his first. I think the second dig is important 'cos he now knows what's in front of him so you can gauge his reaction to some extent. So I'm normally keen to get a second (and 3rd etc) dig as soon as I can.

I've had terriers in the past which I let enter early, 8, 9, 10 months. I prefer to let them be a pup nowadays and only start them when I think they're ready mentally.

At the moment I have a 15month old bitch who is very immature and has been left 'til the coming season.

Her half sister is 9months old and is much more mature and could probably handle a fox right now. I'll start her along with the older bitch.

 

All the best

Stevie

good post steve ,see were your coming from mate , easy to spoil a young dog ,youthful exuberance

can lead to a sickened dog,but if you can pick were you dig them ,a bit of confidence building can go a long way, with the right dog,ie sensible dog.

keep the coments coming ,good thread