Temperament Theory

This category is also part of the temperament, but in normal circumstances of training, it is not quite as important as the categories of Bold, Shy, Upbeat, and Wary.

DEFINITION: Being of the sex that produces eggs and has the potential to give birth to new offspring.

"Men argue for the right to be free while women argue for the right to be upset." John Gray.

TYPE STORY: Evita always wanted to make up the rules for how the dogs played in my front yard, but to her great frustration, all the dogs ignored her constant bids for total power. Then she went into her first (and only) heat cycle. I let her interact, one at a time, with all the neutered males available. She was in dictator-heaven---she not only got to make up all the rules, but the boys all obeyed her!

Evita at Dover Get-Together. Photo by Ruth Ottiger.

THRILL: The excitement of choosing a mate. The care and nurturing of offspring. The relief of giving the care and nurturing of older offspring to others.

Lisa's Ripley. Photo by Now and Then Video.

ANXIETY: Not having resources to properly care and nurture offspring.

SHADOW: A female who received too much testosterone in the womb.

SHADOW STORY: Gael looked and acted masculine. She was the most aggressive pup in her litter, constantly fighting with her brothers and even her mother. At six months she was already dominant over ten adult intact females. She fought off most males during her heat cycles, allowing only the most dominant of males near her. When she was bred, she had small litters with a large percentage of fatal health problems. As she matured, she became aggressively unpredictable, sometimes being very loving and sweet, and, with no warnings or posturing, trying to kill other dogs of both sexes.

TRAINING RECOMMENDATIONS: The Dog's Mind by Bruce Fogle. Learn about the dog's reproduction system, because even a spayed female will sometimes show behaviors that are directly linked to courtship, mating, rivalry, and resource gathering and guarding.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT: Respect the female's occasional need to build a nesting area, demand food from a male, resource gathering and guarding.

PROBLEM PREVENTIONS: Practice, practice, practice a "release" or "give it" for those times the female is resource gathering and has gathered resources dangerous to her health. (What is it about used tissues that makes females desire them so much?)

AGGRESSION: Resource gathering can turn into resource guarding and if you try to take these resources away from her when she's thinking about puppies, she'll fight to keep these resources. Even spayed females will go through phases of thinking about puppies. Backing off and using withdrawal of attention is your best option. Rivalry aggression can also be a problem if another female "flirts" with a male she has chosen as a mate.

HUG: Hug therapy can increase the nurturing aspect of the female.

DRUG: Hormonal treatments are available for females with too many masculine traits. There are also drug treatments available for spayed females who develop weak bladders later in life.

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BORDER COLLIE BEHAVIORS: A TEMPERAMENT THEORY Female

by Val Maurer

BORDER COLLIE BEHAVIORS:
A TEMPERAMENT THEORY
Female