March 09, 2005

Temperament

Often, in ads for kennels, you'll see the comment "breeding for temperament", but few go on to elaborate on what they mean by this statement.

Just as a breed ‘standard’ sets out what a particular breed of dog looks like, it also gives a description of what the dog’s temperament should be. From the standard, an Australian Cattle Dog should be:
  • alert, extremely intelligent, watchful, courageous and trustworthy
  • exhibiting loyalty and protective instincts
  • suspicious of strangers
  • amenable to handling

Any feature of temperament foreign to a working dog must be regarded as a serious fault.

So a cattle dog who is nervous, shy or fearful, aggressive towards other dogs, subdued or listless, aggressive towards people or lacking in a work ethic, does not meet the standard and should not generally be part of a breeding program.

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