Sadly my DDB is now gone..However I can definitely add some first hand experience towards the temperament of the DDB..My dog was exactly how the dogue is described , a dog of dissuasion..He looked mean, acted mean, hated anyone and everyone, chased people out of the yard, chased animals out of the yard, however he bit nobody and was more or less harmless....Even when he had chased down and cornered a rabbit he did nothing but stand over it.. People would come over and George would act like the grumpy bouncer at the bar who asks for your ID every time you go to that bar, even tho you have been there a 100 times over the guy still asks for your ID... Even people who had been over a thousand times were still treated the same way every time...George would not harm them, however he would let them know he was watching them and that they were indeed outsiders....In the end George was all about show and dissuasion, he had a very high threshold for real aggression and even when attacked by another dog we were easily able to call him off..He was extremely gentle with small dogs and animals, he would chase anything that ran, but never with any ill intent..
Soto give you an example..when people would come over I would instruct them to not make any eye contact with george or attempt to pet him..Treat him like he was a snobby cat and allow him to take interest in yo, whatever you do, do not make extended eye contact, call him by name like you know him or try to give him any commands, also do not try to pet him or touch him in any way till he comes to you.... Now George would not hurt anyone if they broke these rules, however if they ever wanted any chance to become his friend for the day they needed to follow protocol......So that was step one, the second step was to have them sit down on the couch which allowed George the opportunity to settle down and relax a little.. Once he was relaxed he would usually go up and start investigating the new arrivals...Usually some sniffing would lead to some nose pokes and shoves....Now because I Instructed people to not make eye contact george would use these head pokes and nose bumps to try to get them to make eye contact.... Poke after poke after poke til the person finally made eye contact... Usually at this point George would make is DDB stink face lip curl as only a DDB can do ..Just to let them know he was still watching them..... After this eye contact and last threat George would usually stand in front of the person an expect them to pet him on the backside right above his tail LOL.........
George was extremely socialized, extremely well exercised and came to work with me every day, none of his behavior was trained it was genetic and no amount of socializing or exercise would change it....He was as close to a old world working DDB as you could ask for and he behaved text book as what he was intended to be, a dog if dissuasion, look mean and tough and chase people off the property without harming them...... he was a master of the art of bullying and intimidation with an extremely high bite threshold.. Off property he was harmless and shy with people... So much so that he would go visit my neighbor in her yard and act like a normal dog,she could pet him, lead him on a leash, however once in his yard he wouldn't even allow her to feed him over the fence, he would snap at her hands and force her to throw the treats over the fence.... Once he was on his property it was like his job was to be a bouncer and everyone was treated the same with zero tolerance or favoritism , even people he knew since we adopted him....It was the strangest thing you could imagine....
I adopted George at 1 yr old so this behavior was already there, I could not Alpha role George or do any force type dominance training as George was far too powerful...Take this very seriously, these dogs are stupidly powerful, you need to have them want to do what you want them to do, you will not force them to do it if they don't want to do it...So always treat these guys with respect and realize even a causal body check is enough to knock you senseless.. I found George was very proud and that by treating him with respect he seemed to treat us with respect, we had a very good mutual understanding and he was perfectly behaved and safe off leash everywhere and anywhere....
Good news is the DDB are the most sensitive,loving and empathic dogs you could imagine, like they have a 6th sense tied to your moods and will bond with you closer then a normal dog will, even with all the stubborn quirky traits I would own a George over and over again if I could... The ultimate guard dog , the ultimate family dog all woven together into a stable reliable dog that can separate being a goofy dog and guarding the house like a person going to their day job.....
Worst thing I had to deal with was his horrible flatulence ..His farts were as powerful as his muscles !
