I think there is quite a misconception out there that a dog must show visual aggression to be a good guardian. Thats just not the case at all. Or even to be "dedicated to their job" and that is actually quite the contrary. In fact dogs that typically show outward aggression fall into 2 categories. The first being actually unpredictable and/or dangerous. And the second being insecure and/or nervous. Both types will bite. Both types with be visually aggressive. And both types will often times get someone in trouble with misconception that theyll actually follow through with their bite and stay with it and persue a predator or "the bad guy." Your aggressive dogs are going to be the dogs that, sure may handle the situation but they are also the dogs that often redirect onto their pack in the moment. Dogs that are over the top are often that way because of instability. And your nervey dogs will not actually commit to a pursuit. With them youll get a nip and thats really it. If you agitate them you may see more, but thats human influence.

No matter the genetics there are dogs of all walks of life in every litter. Genetics is a lottery after all. Its important that anyone who breeds dogs gets familiar with each individual puppy and understands them as an individual. No matter how much we like to hope and strive for our litters being consistent there is no guarantee to this. And any breeder boasting that being the case is lying straight to your face or has no idea what they are talking about.

A good way to predict the bulk of the tendencies is by looking at the last 3 or 4 generations of your potential puppies genetics. What you see there is often going to be in some way what youll end up with. Things like nerve, confidence, workability are all genetic. And any combination is possible if its been somewhere already. Breeders with first hand knowledge of their own breedings generation after generation are going to be the ones to tell you exactly what those possibilities are and theyll learn real fast to pick the individual traits up in their pups very early on. Finding breeders with generations retained will give you the clearest picture of your potential pup. Because first hand knowledge is crucial when evaluating a dog. A lot of us remember the game "Telephone" and how things are just never the same as they are relayed down the line.

Human influence is HUGE on a dogs behavior. It can change everything. For example, this is a major reason that groomers and vets and trainers often remove the owner from the dog to see/use their raw behavior. That raw behavior is what your dog will do and rely on in a situation where you are not the influence. For example, its easy to create an overexcited dog by being very excited in your behavior when you first come home. Often this leads to dogs that jump, pee, bark and whine and sometimes it can create anxious behavior. When working with an animal that is supposed to work independently we do not want our influence to be what they need to perform their job. I means its nearly impossible considering we cant always be there. We want them to think for themselves and make the best decisions for the job we have them for. This is the very reason that understanding the raw behavior is very important when acquiring a dog for a job. Just like when you want a dog for obedience you want toy drive or food drive. When you need a dog to be confident in following through with a predator situation you need that raw behavior to be there.

This doesnt mean the dogs will not need guidance to get to their best. But what this means is that what you need for them to actually do their job is already there. Just like when you need a dog for herding you need to put the dog with the sheep and observe first to see if they have that raw behavior. Then you move forward with teaching them commands and harnessing what is already present in the raw.

So when I say for instance, like Zabbo needs an experienced lgd home, Im saying it because this dog has the confidence and the independence to flat ignore anyone that doesnt understand how to raise an lgd. Depsite how what Ive said may have been taken this guy hasnt shown an ounce of aggression. But what he has shown me is that he is a confident and very independent dog that doesnt believe for half a second that youre relevant to him and his needs. This will mean that in his future he has 2 very important pieces to being an incredible lgd. Zabbo also thinks that he owns the world, but not with an ounce of aggression. He does it with confidence. He knows hes something and that almost arrogance is what I love when Im picking an lgd. He doesnt need to be aggressive because he just knows the world is his. As he grows and matures that ownership of the world that he has no will develop and the "aggression" that everyone thinks a good lgd needs will be there defending what he has claimed to be is. There is a bit of possession that develops there.

Any behavior seen as a puppy will magnify as they got older. So if when Im evaluating puppies and I see possessive behavior in a 5wk old puppy that possessive behavior will only grow as the puppy ages. If I see a lack of confidence in a puppy that often will get worse as they age and will not make a good lgd. If I see a puppy that is a bully at 5 months old, that puppy is going to be a bully as a 5yr old no matter the training. Every raw behavior seen in puppies will be seen in their adult self. Training is learned behavior and its influenced by people. Remember this when selecting your pups. Training isnt going to be there when your dog is 100% alone. Its that raw behavior that will be there and itll be what they use because its who they are. This is the very reason that I never say "training" when talking about lgds. Yeah, theyll need guidance while they mature because 'young and dumb' doesnt just apply to humans, lol. But that behavior is hormone influenced and its a normal stage in development for all predatory animals. (And yes, dogs are predatory animals.) Youll have to guide them through that stage before they return to themselves and that isnt training in my opinion because youre not teaching them to do anything, youre just keeping them in line and setting boundaries. All the training in the world will not change their raw behavior. But the wrong guidance and boundaries can sometimes create bad habits. It is important to set the dogs up for success and make sure that we guide them through this adolescent stage.

LGDs dont have to be mean and nasty to do their job. They just need devotion, confidence without nerve but with the right amount of independence and theyll do all of the things they need to. The best dogs will entertain a pet from the same people theyll corner if they step into the field unattended. And thats not something you can train. And this is a huge focus in my program and why I set out on this journey.