| Subject: dog temperments |
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dominic
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Date Posted: 21:49:44 09/16/07 Sun
DOG TEMPERAMENT TYPES ~Article
Posted on September 16, 2007 at 02:36:25 AM by
It shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that the quest to understand temperament traits isn't new. Back in the times of the ancient Greek philosophers, Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, noted that while no two people were the same, many had similar characteristics. Once Hippocrates and his cohorts observed which group a person fitted into, they could fairly accurately predict other aspects of that person's responses to life.
Hippocrates called those whose obvious traits were to be loud, late, optimistic, and loved to have fun, Sanguines. He called those who loved to be the leaders, Choleric. Those who needed to have all of life in order and were moodier than the others were named Melancholies; and those who preferred to watch and could easily go in any direction as long as someone else was leading, were called Phlegmatics. These four types were known as the four "humours".
Since dog enthusiasts alway look for a better way to train, it wasn't long before these characterizations were applied to dogs: the behaviorist Ivan P. Pavlov used the four humours concept to create a system to evaluate dog temperaments and differentiate between the basic "types" of higher nervous system activity. Pavlov related the four temperament types with two factors: arousal and inhibition.
The Melancholic type
1. Identified by a weakness of nervous system processes; categorized as "weak" dogs.
2. Display weakly developed arousal and inhibition processes, thus never function properly in their environment and any degree of difficulty in a task leads to failure in performance.
3. Generally show passive behavioral tendencies and weak reactions.
4. Avoidance and flight tendencies are pronounced.
5. Appear often inhibited, anxious, and unsure, with generally low stimulus thresholds.
("fear biters" fall into this category...)
" Strong" dogs fall into three further categories:
Choleric type: strong, unbalanced, EASILY aroused (excitable)
1. Display very strongly developed arousal (excitement) processes with weakly developed inhibition processes.
2. Often appear unruly and out of control with aggressive tendencies
3. Are very active dogs. Responses to commands and hand signals are very fast and trigger arousal (excitement) processes. But the accuracy in the performance of tasks is often poor, since inhibition (blocking) processes are weakly developed and arousal processes dominate them.
4. Do not differentiate as clearly between tasks as the active defensive reaction is pronounced.
5. Appear irascible (easily angered or quick tempered) with low stimulus thresholds.
Sanguine type: strong, balanced, mobile
1. Balanced between strong arousal (excitement) and strong inhibition (blocking) processes.
2. Performs all tasks very fast and accurately.
3. Rarely makes mistakes and learns very quickly.
4. With the right attributes for protection work, make excellent service and performance dogs.
5. Generally have medium stimulation thresholds.
Phlegmatic: strong, balanced, sluggish
1. Strongly developed arousal (excitement) processes and strongly developed inhibition (blocking) processes with a good balance between the two; sluggish refers only to a slow mobility between the two processes.
2. Generally described as calm. Work consistently but slowly.
3. Require strong stimulation to stay motivated and require repetition of stimuli.
4. Performance potential is limited due to the slow mobility.
5. Have high stimulus thresholds.
How to use temperament to your advantage:
These are temperaments defined in "black and white"; but realize that no one dog is completely one temperament type. Each dog is a blend of usually 2 and occasionally 3 types with One temperament type dominant and others secondary.
Also, don't forget that training, lifestyle, upbringing and other circumstances may have forced an individual to function "off style.
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