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Working breed

C

chaser17

Active Member
I have a question, are there still any breeders out there that breed for what the ddb was created for? to be a GUARD, HUNTING, WORKING dog. It seems like all anyone cares about is if their are " GR CH's" in conformation in the ped. I believe conformation is very important but it is definitely not the most important thing to breed for. After all this is a WORKING breed but nowadays it looks like the working part has been bred out of them. I know very few people that still breed the ddb as a working dog and 99% of the time they keep their own stock and let go very few pups. Well just a question. Thanks in advance
 
KimT

KimT

Well-Known Member
As with any breed its 50/50 some still breed for working/hunting/guarding ability and some don't. I know this answer is probably not very helpful and Im sorry for that. A lot of the breeds nowadays are city dogs,not much call for boar hunting.I try to keep mine active so they don't become flabby over weight couch potatoes. Walking/swimming/lure coursing and we also go conformation.
 
Kujo

Kujo

Well-Known Member
My boy does all 3!

1. He guards/protects the house...and me when he feels there's a threat.

2. He's a pro fly hunter...no fly or bug is safe in our home. And we are working on squirrel hunting as well!

3. He works very hard to to be near me at all times.

:biggrin2:

In all seriousness, there's very little call for a true working breed anymore; but the protection/guardian drive is very strong in most DDB's. If you found one with a high prey drive I bet you could train them to hunt like they used to.
 
NYDDB

NYDDB

Well-Known Member
I notice these traits in Mateo, but in a modified form.

Guarding, yes. The watchfulness, the stubborn "I will not move until whatever it is that is making me wary moves away, or I'm convinced it is not a threat" kind of thing. The way he positions himself between me and whomever he perceives as a threat, also. He is much more "guardy" and watchful at night. But he is not fierce, by any stretch of the imagination, and generally is a very social guy.

Hunting. Mine has a fairly strong prey drive, and will stalk and chase squirrels. It looks serious (and slightly comical, since they are much faster than him), but once they stop moving, his interest is elsewhere...even if they are "trapped" and within striking distance. So, not a dedicated hunter, no.

I guess the other question is, is could one take these 'modified' traits that are still present in the DDB and train them to become stronger? Yes, probably...to some extent.

It's the "nature vs nurture" concept--- depends on what you want out of your dog.
 
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