Temperament

In up coming issues, this column will deal with two aspects of the dog, temperament and behavior. Often linked together, they are very different parts of the make up of the animal and as breeders, exhibitors, handlers, trainers and owners, it is important for us to understand the differences and how they are manifested.

Temperament is what the dog is born with, the personality, if you will, that it has received through the genes of its forebears. This is also what it will pass on to its progeny through its genes. Behavior is how the dog has learned to conduct itself in a variety of situations. While behavior is not past on through the genes, some types of behavior may be passed on to the dog's immediate offspring through imitation.

Temperament and behavior are the words that we use in every day speech to characterize a dog's actions. In scientific studies, the terms used are genotype and phenotype. Genotype is usually described as the fundamental constitution of a dog in terms of its hereditary factors and phenotype is the actions of the dog distinguished by visible attributes rather than by hereditary or genetic traits.

In the not too distant past, many scientists believed that heredity had little, if anything, to do with human behavior. They believed that behavior was totally learned through life's experiences. We now know that heredity has a great deal to do with our behavior. There have been studies of identical twins, separated at birth have found them in adult life with similar occupations, houses, cars, and spouses. Several years ago a study conducted at Harvard University proved that shyness in people is hereditary. In dogs, we know that behavior is a combination of genetics and experiences and it is the latter that is often misinterpreted.

Some researchers believe that dogs are born with one of only four types of temperaments; outgoing (tail wagging, licking), assertive (tug-of-war is a good indication of this), dependent (always wanting to be with people) and passive (indifferent or responsive for only a short period of time). From these four, these researchers state, through socialization and training-or-lack- there- of- experience and environment, all of the varied types of behavior that we see in all dogs of all breeds arise.

Any one who has sat for hours watching a litter of puppies interact with each other can attest to the fact that these traits exhibit themselves early, as early as three or four weeks of age. There is the dominant male, usually, but not always, the largest male. The dominant female, usually the noisiest female. The assertive puppies that crawl over or push out of their way their litter mates at feeding time. Passive puppies that are the ones being crawled over or pushed aside and the dependent puppies that seem to be happiest when being held by people rather than being with their litter mates.

At this stage, none of these temperaments are bad. It is as the dog grows older and if some of these traits are extreme that we can encounter problems. No great leap of imagination is required to see how the original temperaments can develop into dogs that are hyper, overly aggressive, overly shy or sharp shy. This is where behavior comes into the scene and can lead us into breeding problems.

Let us take for example a dog that is overly shy. The owner, either the breeder or a new owner, wants to change this conduct in order to make it a better pet or show it without its hiding or cringing from the judge. The dog is heavily socialized, taken to shopping malls, handling classes or to a canine behaviorist or a training instructor. Many hours are spent getting the dog to the point where it no longer exhibits its shy temperament. Now, the dog has a phenotype personality that is not shy. But what about its genotype? The genotype has not changed and can never be changed. If the dog is to be bred, its total genetic make up must be considered. No matter how the dog is now behaving, we must realize and admit to ourselves that genetically the dog is shy.

Temperament is only one of the attributes for which we should breed, but to me it is one of the most important. Only through understanding our dog's natural genetic temperament can we continue to breed for the "total" dog.

Anthony Cherubini