Thanks for the information. This is the kind of stuff I was looking for. I watched some IGP videos of the sire and he moved incredibly well for as big as he looks.
In regards to Oji’s nerves. Did he have problems with environmentals? Such as surfaces and all loud noises? Was he okay with gunfire but not thunderstorms? Stassi doesn’t have the best nerves. But she is the only suspicious unsocial dog I’ve owned. So I don’t have much to compare her to. I’ve come to realize personally, that if a dog has high enough drive it really helps them overcome a lot of situations. If Stassi didn’t have the drive she wouldn’t be very fun to own and live with.
I was just telling a guy with a GSP yesterday that although his dog is stubborn, she has high drive and he can use that.
Oji was actually good with envirnonmentals, as you say. He had no problems with walking on different surfaces. He was actually very fine with loud noises such as car backfires and fireworks.
It was just lightning and thunder that caused a reaction in him. This led eventually to him getting stressed about rainfall that was hard enough to make tapping sounds on the house windows; and he didn't like the blowing winds of storms. I think it all started with his natural negative reaction to lightning. There is something in the air that some dogs sense or are affected by when it comes to lightning.
Now, I will say that given how he was so unaffected by fireworks, I decided one July 4th to walk him to the park where they hold a professional fireworks show. We picked out a spot on the grass that was not as close as you could get, but still plenty close to the loud stuff you feel in your chest. That was a bit embarrassing for me, because as soon as they started to go off, he launched into his aggressive barking and he was lunging forward. It was all I could do to restrain him as I was butt on the ground in tug-of-war position (granted, he was lunging downhill). The fireworks were just too close and loud, and it was nothing he'd yet experienced.
He was a very vocal dog – not only quick to bark in his characteristic aggressive bark, but he'd bark when stressed. Example: When I'd have him heel when he was driven to chase something he'd launch into his barking. (When I'd give him the silent command, he took that as superceding the heel command) D'oh.
He was very very dog-reactive, and I worked hard on that from an early age so he wouldn't seem like Cujo when seeing a dog 1/2 block away as we were on walks. In the house, his insurmountable drive to bark at any and all animals he could see negated much of his usefulness as a watchdog. We were just very fortunate that he didn't have much of a tendency to bark at animals he could
hear or
smell from inside the house. It was only if he caught sight of one. Other than that, he was calm inside the house as most Dobes are. Outdoors, they are ON!
Are you wanting to get into protection sports? That would be exciting if you did!
Love how both those parents have IGP titles AND AKC obedience CD as well.
