02/06/2024
The never-ending discussion of sport dog vs "real dog" has been picking up traction again on some of the groups. Here are my thoughts (and a graphic) on the matter.
Take this scale here with a spectrum of "sport" and "real world" dogs. Examples of sport dogs on the farthest end of the scale would be those that generally have no intent to cause harm or pain to the decoy.
The opposite end of the spectrum would denote a dog that intends harm to whoever it is they are biting.
This spectrum is not necessarily prey vs defense. Most sport dogs will work out of prey but many real world dogs will work in prey as well. Most sport dogs will not work in defense. Most real world dogs do NOT have to be backed into defense to want to bite- their character takes care of that as is.
A dog will be born of a genetic type anywhere on this spectrum (the red needle). The thicker box encasing the needle is the honest representation of the dog with minimal training input.
The thinner lines with the glowing yellow shows the potential that quality training and handling can manipulate the genetic package of the dog. Think of these lines as a rubber band. The further the band moves away from the needle, the more resistance there will be to the genetics.
But with that resistance, the further the dog gets from that needle the higher likelihood that the dog will fail in either a deployment or fail in a trial. Genetics can only be manipulated so far.
With all that said, a sport dog with the genetics to the middle of the scale can be manipulated into the realm of โreal worldโ work. A real world dog with genetics close to the middle of the scale can also be manipulated into sport work as well. Just donโt be surprised when they start bullying decoys during trials ๐