This section is applicable to you if:
- You are looking to buy a puppy
- You are looking to breed for a puppy
If you are looking to buy a puppy, the following lessons will help you find a good breeder that knows what they are doing.
If you are looking to breed for a puppy, then this will help you groom your canine for the most potential of being an excellent protection service dog.
The Sire and Dam
The first thing that you need to look at when it comes to your puppy is their parents and their lineage. The more the breeder knows about the puppy's genealogy, the better idea you'll have of what type of puppy they will produce.
This doesn't just include health and physical characteristics, this also has a lot to do with personality. As you'll see in the following lessons, personality and intelligence is the most important part of a protection service dog.
Any dog can bite, but it takes a special dog to have the intelligence, drive, desire and instincts required to know when to growl, bark or bite.
Like a good soldier, working on command is required. However, the dog also needs to know when to react if you don't have a chance to issue a command. This is a sensitive factor and any breed of lesser intelligences won't be reliable in that regard.
Example:
- You're at your house and your neighbor comes over to talk. They are irritated about something and walking briskly. - Are they a danger? Not in this instance. Despite the obvious tension, your dog would not be justified to bite, especially without your asking it to.
- You've been talking to the same neighbor in a heated argument about property lines. The tension escalates too quickly and your neighbor draws a gun to shoot you. It happens so rapidly, he was so close and it was so unexpected that you don't have time to react. - Are they a danger? Duh! Your dog would then be justified to bite even without you telling it to. And in this instance, any hesitation on their part could result in your getting shot. You better hope that your protection canine is FAST.
Now I know that you're thinking to yourself, "Any dog that bites without being told to is dangerous and a liability."
My answer to that is, yes and then a big resounding NO! Keep going with the course and I will clarify as we go. I'm trying to stay on topic here.
Inherited Personality Traits
In conclusion, when looking at the parents of your potential protection pup, don't just pay attention to their health, you need to be aware of their personality score and their overall behavior. This is important because your puppy is very likely to inherit the same or similar traits.
Example:
Dogs that are personality tested and certified by Tackleberry Solutions are featured with their own web page. The page includes their Parents, DOB, Gender, Color, Personality Score, Pictures, Videos, etc.
Each canine's page is linked to their parents and their grandparents all the way back until the first generation that was ever registered with Tackleberry Solutions. This means that you can check and verify the puppy's breed, personality traits and specs as far back as they've been documented. This is important because the more solid the puppy's background, the better the puppy's expected personality score and development.
