Collins Good Dog Behaviour: An Owner’s Guide. Gwen Bailey

CHARACTERISTICS: friendly, biddable, energetic

       Springers’ boundless energy, agility and willingness to please make them ideal working dogs.

       8 COCKER SPANIEL

      

BRED FOR flushing and retrieving game

      

ACTIVITY LEVEL:

      

CHARACTERISTICS: bustling, exuberant, affectionate

       A Cocker Spaniel in full flight flushing out game.

       9 STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIER

      

BRED FOR fighting other dogs

      

ACTIVITY LEVEL:

      

CHARACTERISTICS: courageous, tenacious, fearless

       Staffordshire Bull Terriers are courageous and fearless.

       10 YORKSHIRE TERRIER

      

BRED FOR killing rats

      

ACTIVITY LEVEL:

      

CHARACTERISTICS: alert intelligent, spirited

       Yorkshire Terriers are spirited little dogs which enjoy playing.

       11 CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIEL

      

BRED FOR companionship

      

ACTIVITY LEVEL:

      

CHARACTERISTICS: affectionate, friendly

       12 BOXER

      

BRED FOR hunting bears and boars

      

ACTIVITY LEVEL:

      

CHARACTERISTICS: lively, strong, loyal

       Boxers are affectionate, exuberant and boisterous. They can make lovely pets providing they get enough play and exercise.

       MONGRELS AND CROSS-BREEDS

      Mongrels contain elements of their various ‘pure bred’ parents. They will have a real mixture of genetic traits which can be accentuated or played down by their owners as they are raised. They are good ‘all round’ dogs and often make excellent pets.

      Cross-breeds (from pure-bred parents of different breeds) contain a mixture of the characteristics of both breeds. They have the advantage over pure-breeds of having fewer health problems associated with inbreeding. The most successful crosses are often those where a breed with a gentle, placid nature is crossed with a breed with a more reactive temperament.

      THE RIGHT DOG FOR THE RIGHT SITUATION

      When looking at the characteristics for each breed, you should realise that there is a negative side to each quality if it is incorrectly channelled. For example, it may be beneficial to have an ‘alert’ dog that responds to all your requests quickly, but a dog that is alert and responsive to every little noise outside would become very tiresome. Similarly, it may be nice to have a ‘lively’ and ‘energetic’ dog if you have a high activity level yourself, but on days when you have no desire to be very active, this energy may emerge in unwanted activity and bad behaviour.

       Exercise requirements are not always dependent on size. The giant Irish Wolfhound, for example, is often less active than other smaller dogs.

       Any surplus energy in active dogs can be channelled into energetic games with toys.

      Choosing the characteristics that best suit your requirements is essential to achieving a happy partnership.

      YOU CAN TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS!

      The old saying that ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ is simply not true! One of the requirements of a hunting/scavenging existence is that you need to be adaptable. This trait has been handed down to our domestic dogs and they remain flexible in their behaviour and open to change throughout their lives. Unacceptable dog behaviour can be channelled into more acceptable avenues and new patterns of behaviour can be developed. With a better understanding, many owners can have dogs that are well behaved and can change their dog’s behaviour for the better.

       Older dogs may take more time to learn new ways because you will be working against established behaviour patterns. However, all dogs will readily pick up new ways of behaving if it is to their advantage to do so.

      Although it is relatively easy to change the way in which a dog behaves, it is unlikely that you will be able to change a dog’s character fundamentally once he is mature. A shy, submissive dog, for example, is unlikely to become a super-confident extrovert.