By Rich, Professional Dog Trainer 

BRT Yahoo LIST   Message 20882
Sep 25, 2004
3:03 pm

(sic)


I would describe them as both dominant and protective. For starters I think that we have to define some terms so we are talking about the same thing.

Dominance is the desire to get their own way. In some cases that is done through aggression, but that is a seperate issue called Rankness. Often people will describe a dominant dog as pushy. The dog that is coming up to you and using it's nose to demand that you pet it is exhibiting a form of dominance. Dogs are acutly aware of body position and the dog that pushes through a door first or bumps you as you walk down the hall is demonstrating dominance. Dominance is used to increase position in an encounter. It is done through the use of body position, forcing the encountered person or animal in to a submissive position and through the attempt to get their own way.
 

Dominance also extends to those around them. Dominance is involved when a dog takes a bone or toy from another dog. They will use their size and strength to impose their higher status on some thing new coming in to their area. It can bee seen in their body position, use of their shoulders, and by mounting as method to force the other dog in to a position of submission. Get two dominant animals together and they will continue to vie for the top position until it escalates in to a fight or it is disrupted by an outside force. Like the owners stepping in and controling the behaviors of the dogs. If a dog senses weakness it may attack to demonstrate dominance. In a contact with a person they will bite to demonstrate dominance over that person if they sense fear in them. So not all times the dog bites is it doing so out of aggression, it may do it to establish dominance.

Rankness in a dog involves the dogs desire use aggression to increase rank within the family (pack) by using aggression to force their will on who they see as the top ranking indivual. They may also pick a lower indivdual if they don't think they can win the top position. There are some breeds that tend to be rank by nature, the Giant Schnauzer is an example. Some dogs have been bred so that they exhibit rankness as a by-product of trying to increase other chacteristics. This is often seen in GSDs.

Protectiveness is the ability of the dog to use force to protect a person or property from a threat. Many protective dogs are also dominant, but they are seperate issues. Some dominant dogs have little or no protective desires and some protective dogs have little domiance.

I would describe the BRT as both dominant and protective. They will demand attention through several methods, like the foot or a head butt. With other animals in their "pack" they will attempt to control the actions of those around them. They demonstrate no type of rank behavior. You are not going to see a BRT actively coming after it's owner to establish dominance. I suppose you could, through bad training, foster that type of behavior. But I would not describe it as a chararcteristic of the breed like I would with the Giant. They are definitly protective. More of people than property, but protective of both. Given a choice they will protect the person first. If they identify a threat they work to eliminate it. This can be a problem if they are not taught to identify a true threat.

Rich