What is Temperament?

Question

What is temperament?

What is YOUR dog’s temperament? Is it sound, or unsound?

Is its temperament what the breed standard describes?

Answer 1

Temperament is the way the dog acts/reacts to situations or things.

Max's is the animal aggression, and he is also very high energy, and vocal about it. All this is typical of the breed, in fact most things I read about Pit Bulls describe Max to a T. He is not "unique" in his behavoir compared to the way they should be. The only difference I see in him is he is very skiddish of the unknown... click a pen on his head and hes terrified of it for months. Shake a spaghetti stick at him and he run to the opposite end of the house.

Answer 2

Siberian Husky :

gentle and playful, but willful and mischievous,  puppy at heart, they are clever, sociable and loving, easy-going and docile ,very intelligent and trainable, but they have a mind of their own and will only obey a command if they see the point. likes to howl and gets bored easily. They do not like to be left alone

As far has I know `:

Gentle : yes for all of them

Playful :24/7 consider that a yes

Puppy at heart : Still to young ot tell

Willfull : 2 out 3 YES

mischievous : 1 out 3 Yes

clever ,sociable, loving : yes

easy-going,docile,very intelligent : yes to all

trainable : 2 out of 3 yes

mind of their own  : OMG ! YES TO ALL

only obey a command if they see the point : NO

likes to howl and gets bored easily.  : yes to all

So I guess , they are close to breed standard ,

Altought they dont mention how dog friendly they are , And my dogs are not the ''Breed Standard'' regardinf the ''escape artist' Until now , They've seem fine , I guess the yard is big enough , they dont need to escape!!

Answer 3

Temperament is how the dog behaves such as ,hyper,calm aggressive,protective its the natural tenancies your dog displays.An example would be some people mistake fear for aggression for real aggression.If a dog growls or barks and backs up or attacks when your back is to them or the person walks away=that is fear aggression=if they come at you head on and don't back down ,that's aggression.If you are in doubt simply get to a trainer in your area and they could help you decide what your dog is prone towards naturally,not saying your dog is aggessive thats just an example of a temperment.Tilks Mom

Answer 4

Temperament is your dogs personality, and it usually does depend on the breed...so yes, it is what the breed standard describes.

Answer 5

My easiest explanation of temperament would be your dog's personality.

The AKC's description for Shih Tzu:

Temperament

As the sole purpose of the Shih Tzu is that of a companion and house pet, it is essential that its temperament be outgoing, happy, affectionate, friendly and trusting towards all.

Ummm, yep, I think that covers all the bases with Cubby!

Answer 6

my dog temp. is protective.

temperment is how you would describe ur dog

active, affectionate, alert, attentive, brave, determined, fearless, friendly, gentle, good natured, independent, intelligent, loyal

obedient, plucky, protective, quiet, responsive, very friendly

Answer 7

Temperament is the character of the dog -- while personality varies between individual dogs, temperament should be generalized and identifiable across the breed.

Example: Bearded Collies are bouncy and affable; Labs are gregarious; Dobermans are aloof and alert.

The temperament of a Siberian husky, as described in the Breed Standard:

"The characteristic temperament of the Siberian Husky is friendly and gentle, but also alert and outgoing. He does not display the possessive qualities of the guard dog, nor is he overly suspicious of strangers or aggressive with other dogs. Some measure of reserve and dignity may be expected in the mature dog..."

I have some dogs who display more of this "reserve and dignity" in their maturity than others -- some of them are still outright goofballs.

Otherwise, yes. I believe these traits are typical of the dogs in my kennel.

ADD: Forgot about the "soundness" part. An "unsound" Siberian, in my mind, would be shy, fearful, or overly dog-aggressive...specifically to the point of impairing their ability to work in harness. I simply wouldn't tolerate that.

I have dogs that display fear in new situations -- primarily sled dogs, who do not leave the kennel unless they are working. However, they are excellent sled dogs (their comfort zone), and while I might not want to breed that temperament, I don't mind having it around.

Answer 8

My definition of temperament is the character/predisposition of a dog which is entirely genetically based.

You cannot change genetics (in this case temperament) but you can influence behaviour by manipulating your dogs environment and experiences.

“The characteristic temperament of the Siberian Husky is friendly and gentle, but also alert and outgoing. He does not display the possessive qualities of the guard dog, nor is he overly suspicious of strangers or aggressive with other dogs. Some measure of reserve and dignity may be expected in the mature dog.”

•Friendly and gentle

•Alert and outgoing

•Does not display the possessive qualities of the guard dog

•Nor is he overly suspicious of strangers or aggressive with other dogs

Is my dog's temperament the same as what the breed standard calls for?

Yes!

Answer 9

Well the girls are so young so I'm not seeing much of the standard yet.  They're very affectionated though.  Sweet giants.

"The Bullmastiff is a devoted, alert guard dog, with a good-natured temperament, though he tends to be willful. Docile unless provoked, he is fearless and protective, yet affectionate. Although unlikely to attack, it will catch an intruder, knock him down and hold him. At the same time, it is tolerant of children. Intelligent, even-tempered, calm and loyal"  

Answer 10

Excellent Question.  One that I think is ambiguous, and mean different things to different people.  To me, temperament describes, basically, the dog's "attitude" for lack of a better word- how the dog reacts to new situations.  How the dog handles strangers and strange dogs.  It's a mental issue as well as a social issue.  I think much of temperament is what we make of it.  You can have a puppy that is born with sound temperament, but if you beat it every day with a stick, you will definately alter the dog's temperament.

As for my dogs- they have 4 different temperaments.  From wild and wooly, to calm and sophisticated.  Much of those temperaments are what we made of them.

Answer 11

The standard from the AKC web site:

"The typical Miniature Schnauzer is alert and spirited, yet obedient to command. He is friendly, intelligent and willing to please. He should never be overaggressive or timid."

Alert - check

Spirited - check!

Obedient to command - check (as long a no squirrel is around - that, we're working on!)

Friendly - double check!

Intelligent - even though I call him Mr. Potato Brain, he really is a smart dog

Willing to please - check

Overagressive or timid - nope - not a bit.

So, in my opinion, he fits the written standard, and is of sound temperament - two different things!  More important to me, however, he is an intelligent, willing, friendly and un-fearful little guy.  He tries anything I ask him to, which is a bonus in training and especially agility!

Add: sorry - forgot to define temperament - the character of the individual dog, and of the breed.  Some dogs may not conform to the breed temperament, but that doesn't *necessarily* make them unsound.

Answer 12

It means what the dog breed standards personality, like labs like water, or beagles howl alot.(Im not saying that all dogs do that stuff bet alot do.)

Answer 13

Interesting question, Amanda!

According to the AKC website, the Shiba Inu:

A spirited boldness, a good nature, and an unaffected forthrightness, which together yield dignity and natural beauty. The Shiba has an independent nature and can be reserved toward strangers but is loyal and affectionate to those who earn his respect. At times aggressive toward other dogs, the Shiba is always under the control of his handler. Any aggression toward handler or judge or any overt shyness must be severely penalized.

Spirited and bold?  You mean the dog who used to stare defiantly at me as she continued to chew my underwear? Never!! :-)

Good nature?  Yes, she is a very affable dog.

Independent? Absolutely.

Reserved towards strangers? Kind of...if they walk into the house, she's all over them but if someone approaches her on a walk, she isn't that interested...her tail droops a bit.

Loyal and affectionate? Ha...I don't know about loyal, exactly, but she greets me with more excitement and happiness than anyone else who comes through the door.  Definitely affectionate.

Aggressive towards other dogs? Not if they ignore her, but the ones who come bounding up to her get a snarling, angry Shiba. Basically, any dog who tries her "dominant" state (in her mind).

So yes, I would say this is a pretty correct idea of a Shiba temperament.