What is "Temperament?"

It depends on who you're asking. Like many words in the English language, the word “temperament” has a number of definitions. In the shelter world for example, it covers a very broad range of factors and refers to the overall character and behavior of the dog – everything from the dog's personality, sociability, activity level, tendency toward aggression etc. So a “temperament test” in the shelter world is an overall picture of who the dog is.

In describing a human, we use the word “temperament” to refer to one’s basic constitution as it effects their behavior. So when describing a pleasant, easy going person we might say they have a “good temperament.” 

To obedience trainers, that word has a very specific definition. When we use it, we mean (broadly speaking) “the speed with which a dog recovers from a change in the environment” and more commonly in the training world we use it to describe, “the speed with which a dog recovers from a correction.”  

For example, if I am working with a 120 pound leash-lunging German Shepherd and I do a hard leash correction and he shakes it off as if to say, “Is that all you got?” – that is a dog with a hard temperament. A hard temperament is a basic requirement of many types of working dogs, such as patrol dogs, seeing eye dogs and search and rescue dogs. It’s an important trait in a therapy dog as well – the dog must be able to quickly recover from a startle or a strange noise.  

So picture a nice, friendly, calm Labrador retriever who is a good therapy dog – she is sweet, calm, friendly and mellow – but she has a ROCK HARD temperament if she is good at her job.

It's easy to see a shy, fearful dog who submissively urinates, runs and hides at the drop of a hat as being "soft." But we can also picture a mean, nasty, vicious dog with a long bite history – a dog who  takes it personally when you correct him - maybe even redirecting at you – as possibly  having a very SOFT temperament as well.  

As obedience trainers, we must not confuse temperament with personality. It takes a while for new trainers to grasp the concept of hard vs. soft temperament within the context of obedience training and to use those terms accurately. They sometimes incorrectly use the terms as personality descriptions rather than working traits.

(Note: Other terms such as: weak nerves, sharpness, acute anxiety, generalized anxiety, separation distress and hyperactivity are commonly misunderstood or misused as well. These will be discussed in future posts.)

How Do I Train My Puppy to Use Only One Small Area of the Yard for Elimination?

 

This is a question we get all the time from dog owners concerned about their lawns.  Unfortunately, the common practice of restricting a puppy’s choice of bathroom locations to only one small area may hurt your housebreaking efforts. Why? Because the key with housebreaking is to form a habit of elimination outdoors. Puppies who are permitted to travel around in the yard and choose their spots, more quickly develop preferences to go to the bathroom outside. 

The feel of grass under their paws, the smells of the outdoors, and the ability to move around and choose their spots, all contribute to faster progress in housetraining. 

Some puppies are a bit fussy about other things as well - like weather, surfaces, and proximity to the owner. For these dogs, adding yet another roadblock to housebreaking is even more risky. 

So as a general rule, we do not recommend attempting to teach your puppy to only use one small area of the yard for elimination. Taking him to the same spot over and over might eventually teach him to prefer that particular area, but it is also likely to slow down your housebreaking efforts.  In addition to the "moving around" factor, Lindsay's Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training (Vol. 3, page 79-80)  gives another reason for not using one small spot over and over during puppy training: "In the morning, the puppy should be taken to the same general location [e.g. the back yard] and vocally prompted to eliminate...As the training process progresses, the puppy should be encouraged to eliminate in different locations near and away from the home, thus preventing the behavior from becoming overly contextualized to particular substrates and locations. [emphasis mine]."  

This advice might not be welcomed by dog owners who are concerned about burn spots on their lawns. The good news is that some dogs will naturally seeks the perimeter of the yard for elimination. If so, that’s great. Also, male dogs who have been neutered after reaching sexual maturity will insist on lifting their legs on vertical surfaces (fences, trees and shrubs), which also tends to reduce the number of burn spots on the lawn. But for most of us, some urine-nitrogen-burn-spots on our lawns are an inevitable part of dog ownership.