Comment to 'Nature VS Nurture'
  • I meant that I would like to see how I would raise a dog with completely different temperament traits than the one I own. My 8 week old pup was taken in a shopping cart to the pet store once a week for an hour or two on the busiest adoption day to be petted by hundreds of strangers. The dog was also taken to every single place that dogs were allowed and I made sure that by the time he was 3 months of age he had met every type of person possible, wearing glasses, hats, black , white , latino, tall, skinny, short you name it he met them. He was then take a a puppy social class where he would be introduced to dogs of his own age and allowed to play off leash with the instructor in the middle of the room supervising the play. We were also in the room but we were not allowed to get up or reach to the dog. The puppies were also fed treats on the floor to stimulate good behaviors and discourage resource guarding. At 6 months he attended an advance obedience class and became a canine good citizen. Now at 1.8 years of age he will attend an attention/obedience/offlead class aimed at dogs that want to compete in obedience trials. Basically I raise a dog systematically to not fear any scenario. I do not promote bad behaviors and the dog is treated as a dog with extreme discipline (no forcecul corrections). Right now my dog is very good but can be better, however, none of the characteristics of the breed type have been displayed for the most part. This is why I want to know if it is my method of raising a dog that causes a balanced well mannered dog that lacks agression or if it was the fact that I dealt with a dog genetically predisposed to act this way.