Hardness

[rottweiler_fancier]

Can someone clear up this defination for me? Does hardness refer to a dog

(a) ignoring corrections
(b) easy-recovery from corrections

This is just a shady area for me...please give me the correct defination.

[Judi W]

I'm sure others will go into more details, but the general definition of hardness is a dog that pushes back against pressure - does not back down. Hardness has degrees which you will see in critiques. Med, med-high, high etc. A hard dog can and often does have a strong work ethic and is a pleasure when this is so. Hardness should never be confused with a nasty disposition or an over-reactive response to stimuli. A hard dog with proper training is a pleasure and a wonderful working partner.

[German Vanegas]

Yes Judy W, well explained ;)

[German Vanegas]

Originally posted by czechrott:
Hardness is not "Hard Headed" :D

That's a valid important clarification, indeed! It is not about stuborness but about toughness. "I can take it" ;)

[Judi W]

And if we're doing the "not" in descriptions I would also add that these dogs are not usually beligerant in their attitudes. They command respect, but not because they are hostile, just because of who they are. They have little need for active hostily and rarely initiate the "pressure" - they respond to it which is an entirely different matter.

[rottweiler_fancier]

Thanks for the clarification...I guess I had a few misconsceptions. I did think hardness related to stubborn/ignoring corrections. Good thing I asked :)

[czechrott]

Yes, Judy has it down!

I'll mention what Hardness isn't. It is not a dog that is stubborn, and needs multiple, heavy corrections before he is proper. That is more "Tractibility" issue. Hardness is not "Hard Headed" :D

[Chuck]

I have never heard of a medium-high result for hardness before. I have only heard of low, medium, high and very high.

[Judi W]

So sorry, I was attempting to illustrate that there is a "range" to hardness, and that it is not an absolute.

[Rafael]

I have always heard that hardness is not only about corrections . You can have a dog that is not hard on the handler/corrections (handler sensitive) but is super hard on the decoy !! Am i wrong ?
1-When a dog is evaluated during his Korung how and what the judge looks at the dog to make the report?
2-Does the decoy help giving him a opinion?
3-What are the definitions for the "low , medium , high and very high for hardness " in the korung report?

One more thing that is off-topic, regarding my post about Defense Training in this forum. I have posted the same question in another forum to Malinois people ,but with a lot of GREAT trainers from different types of sport and police and military dogs as well , that train or have trained different breeds. There were a great discussion about this topic and if you would like to see here goes the link:
http://www.malinois.com/workingmal/bbs/1/?

[ February 15, 2001: Message edited by: Rafael ]