# Civil biter



## Matt Vandart (Nov 28, 2012)

What do you think is the key aspect of a dogs temperament that differentiates a "civil" dog from a pure "sports" dog?

I am not talking about training but rather the inherent propensity.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

A civil dog may be a case of a dog with a short circut related to fear or just physco.

It can also be a good but very serious dog that can't be man handled or treated unfairly.

Some will breed for this strong serious dog and know how to handle them but definitely not for beginners.

I also believe that you can have a calm, even handler soft dog that has the genetics to be a very civil dog.

Most any dog can become civil through improper handling but that's also a dog that can be handled again with proper training and handling, not just "controlling" it.

Bottom line I think it's primarily genetics.

JMHO of course.


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## Howard Knauf (May 10, 2008)

Bob Scott said:


> I also believe that you can have a calm, even handler soft dog that has the genetics to be a very civil dog.
> 
> 
> Bottom line I think it's primarily genetics.
> ...


 My boy is a mush and a hand slut. Of the 7 or 8 young dogs I tested, he was the ONLY one that wanted to bite me for real. And at 14 months old, he would have done it if I gave him the slightest of chances. The other young dogs were just clueless without equipment showing. That said, he was very stable and calm and showed no fear traits or nervousness. It was straight up "I'm gonna eat your ass"...and I liked that very much. Now 4 years later he has proven to me 7 times he would do the job. That said, he's not super hard on bad guys like some previous dogs I've had but then again, nor am I. He gets the job done and I have confidence he'll be there for me. It's a good feeling.

Ditto on the genetics thingy.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Trooper is my "mush" dog and "hand slut".

I can crush him with a cross look but after I we had been doing bite work he was 6-7 months old and was running to the blind but he stopped at the blind to sniff where another young dog took a piss. 

Helper cracked him with the stick and Trooper tried really hard to go over the sleeve after him.

Both his parents were VERY serious dogs but his breeder later said that he didn't get what he wanted/expected out of the breeding. 

Still a very well mannered, obedient truck dog though and that's what's always been first and foremost important to me and any dog I've owned be they house pet, show, hunting or working lines or house pets.

Breed has no ranking in what I want out of a dog.


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