Training vs. Genetics

[Sweet72947]

Something someone said on another thread prompted me to start this one. Some people believe you can "train out" or "socialize out" breed behavioral traits. I don't believe this can be done. For example, if you have a prey driven dog who likes to kill squirrels, it is entirely possible to train this dog to walk next to you off leash and not take off after squirrels. However, you are not eliminating the drive, you are simply teaching the dog that obeying you is more rewarding than a tasty squirrel treat.

For another example, lets take the APBT. This is a dog who has been bred for a long time to fight other dogs. Some breeders are trying to breed away from DA, others still include DA dogs in their breeding program. (This is a hot topic in the APBT world as some believe that if you breed out the DA in the APBT, you are breeding out the fire and what makes the APBT the APBT). If you have a DA APBT, you can train the dog to behave fine around other dogs on leash, even to ignore dogs who get snarky. But you are not training out the drive to fight. You are teaching the dog its more rewarding to behave nicely on leash than to act like a buttmunch.

If you have an APBT puppy, you can socialize it all you want with other dogs, but it may still become DA when it matures. This is true of most terrier breeds in general. For example, we found Benji (the schnauzer mix) when he was 7 or 8 months old. At that time, he was friendly to other dogs, and tried to play with the cats. We took him and Daisy to doggie daycare often. Now, he is four years old. He is DA to male dogs, and very prey driven, so can no longer be around cats. These drives fully developed when he matured at about two.

On the APBT forums, there are a set of rules that responsible APBT owners are held to. Do not leave APBT unattended with other dogs (those with multiple dogs crate them when they go out). Do not take APBT to the dog park. Never trust the APBT not to fight other dogs. They know what their breed is capable of, and those rules are their way of making sure they are not setting their dogs up to fail. It is not "painting the whole breed with the same brush." It is knowing the breed's tendencies, and controlling those tendencies. Some APBT are "cold" dogs (not DA) and will never be DA, but an APBT owner knows that there is always the possibility for this drive to surface and so wouldn't allow an APBT off leash with a bunch of strange dogs any more than you would allow a JRT who had never shown an ounce of prey drive in a room with a bunch of loose rabbits. The risk that those drives may become active is too great.

 

[4dogs3cats]

VERY well put. I dont have anything to add.. you said it very well lol

 

[ihartgonzo]

I must concur.

I never, ever knew how strong breed traits could be until I got Gonzo. He is high drive... beyond high drive. His sensitivity to motion is mind-blowing, whether that object in motion is sheep or a dog or a child (well, he's far more respectful of people, though). It has been so frustrating to me, in the past. There are moments when he is so overcome by something that he is physically uncapable of breaking his focus on it. It has made me feel incompetent and lame at times, but in the end, I KNOW that this is something that I cannot simply stop... hundreds of years of breeding isn't just something you can socialize/condition/desensitize out of a dog. I can do my best to keep him safe, I can work on his focus and his obedience, but in the end, his instincts take over when it's fight or flight and there is very little I can do to change that besides avoid the situation all together.

I am not going to take him out to a field full of sheep where he isn't welcome... because even if he does maintain his focus on me, there is a chance that he will break it. I don't bring him to the dog park at peak hours, either. He will also herd large groups of dogs - he won't touch them - but his natural instinct is inappropriate for other dogs and their owners to have to deal with. Much less a dog whose natural instinct is to fight would be inappropriate. I do feel that there are Pit Bulls out there who are truly stable, laid back, and safe around other dogs... but I feel that they are a minority in the breed, and even worse, the vast majority of Pit Bull owners who bring their dogs to the dog park do not have the knowledge or the understanding to tell the difference. ANY dog historically bred to fight makes me nervous. I have seen wayyy more aggressive/confrontational Bulldogs than I have any other breed, statistically. A small female Bulldog the other day chased Fozzie under my chair and proceded to snarl/snap at him - and dogs never do this to Fozzie. The owners laughed and were like "Silly! Leave the Corgi alone." I told them that it was NOT ok, as her "cute, smooshy" Bulldog starts something every time I see them there.

 

[Laurelin]

I agree and I was going to mention Trey's motion sensitivity as an example but Ihartgonzo beat me to it.

In the same vein, though, Trey has always been highly motion sensitive. We manage it, but you never get rid of those drives. I know how to manage it and keep him from nipping people, but even at 13 I will make a mistake and next thing I know he's in that mode (sometimes I even end up nipped) and you have to work him down. No matter how much you train him to ignore it, I'm never 100% certain that if someone or something moved 'wrong' in front of him and set him off, he wouldn't end up doing something unacceptable.

 

[adojrts]

I agree, you can control, you can train it to a degree and you can manage it, but dismissing how a breed of dog is hard wired is simply stupid in my mind lol.
And maybe those people get lucky, but the funny thing about luck is it often wears out.

 

[elegy]

awesome post.

it has been fascinating to me to watch my border collie pup grow up in a house with two pit bulls. he's been here since 7 1/2 weeks. when he came here he was a toddling little fluffball. now he's got the border collie crouch and stalk, the border collie stare. i certainly didn't teach him that. the pit bulls didn't teach him that. it's just in his genes.

 

[Doberluv]

Well described Sweet. Great post. I think that is why we MUST train our dogs....so that they are managable. Just think of all the behaviors they would do naturally if left to their own devices....even traits that are not so much breed specific, but just general, strong, engrained doggie behaviors.

 

[Ohm]

i guess that's why they call it behavior modification and not behavior elimination. you absolutely want behavior modification for problematic behaviors, but that does not mean the owner's need for vigilance will be modified too. i agree.

 

[AgilityKrazii]

I just want to add another dynamic here.

Lets take a female dog who had pups, the mom USED to be super shy, scared of everthing, loud noises, stangers but after extensive training, desistization she now is very exceptable of strangers and lound noises may startle her but she bounces right back. Now she is bred to a male who doesnt have thos prolems, never has. Will some of the pups turn out like how mom is NOW or come out haveing the triats that the mom USED to have.
This is just a hypathetical situation but I have just been curious about that latly.

 

[Dekka]

I just want to add another dynamic here.

Lets take a female dog who had pups, the mom USED to be super shy, scared of everthing, loud noises, stangers but after extensive training, desistization she now is very exceptable of strangers and lound noises may startle her but she bounces right back. Now she is bred to a male who doesnt have thos prolems, never has. Will some of the pups turn out like how mom is NOW or come out haveing the triats that the mom USED to have.
This is just a hypathetical situation but I have just been curious about that latly.

If there is a genetic proponent then you will stand similar chances whether she got over her issues or not.

Most times these issues show up after the pup goes out to the new home.. so maternal influence is likely minimal.

 

[Doberluv]

I agree with Dekka. But....let's take this one step further. From an evolutionary standpoint, supposin' this intrinsically shy mother dog who over comes some of her issues through training has puppies who exibit her genetic shyness and who also over come most of their skittishness and who also have puppies who repeat the same refrain. And after many, many generations, will the off spring begin to show less shyness? After all, isn't the brain influenced by hormones from the pituitary which regulate emotional response? And what causes hormone levels to change? Behavior and other environmental stimuli may cause dopamine and seretonin levels for example to be altered. Like when you force a smile, the facial muscles directly can cause the happy hormones to increase. Behavior is acting on that response. With repeated habituation, desensatization etc to humans or the triggers which create a shy response, over time won't the infulence of hormonal change on the brain begin to cause intrinsically less shy puppies to be born? I mean....look how domestic dogs probably evolved in the first place. The little dog-like animals they may have evolved from didn't likely start out being unafraid of humans. Something over time must have caused the "wiring" to gradually adapt to humans. Dogs are so hardwired to get along with humans. Just food for thought, I guess.

 

[ihartgonzo]

I just want to add another dynamic here.

Lets take a female dog who had pups, the mom USED to be super shy, scared of everthing, loud noises, stangers but after extensive training, desistization she now is very exceptable of strangers and lound noises may startle her but she bounces right back. Now she is bred to a male who doesnt have thos prolems, never has. Will some of the pups turn out like how mom is NOW or come out haveing the triats that the mom USED to have.
This is just a hypathetical situation but I have just been curious about that latly.

Hmmm...

I would think, the fact that the Mom DID show a lot of improvement with training says something about her true temperament. It could indicate that she does have a solid temperament, and always has had the potential, but was lacking in experience, training, and socialization. It also depends on whether or not her puppies were placed on homes that were willing to go above and beyond "normal" puppy training and socialization.

For instance, Gonzo came to me extremely fearful, insecure and guarded. Over 7 years of socialization, training, and literally 1000's of positive experiences, he is still untrusting of some new people, even though he has improved. To me, there has to be a genetic element to his temperament that makes him touchy. Although he was not socialized or treated well as a puppy, you would think that 7 years of positive experiences could've reversed that. I wish I could've met his Mom... I imagine she was a bit unstable. =/

 

[Athebeau]

I read once before that the border collie club was not willing to have their breed recognized by the AKC for fear they would breed the "eye" out of them. There are some things that you can breed for and shape through behavioral conformation. I read at one time that it's the behavioral conformation that shapes the physical conformation of a breed.

There are many things that can be lost due to show breeding and no longer ensuring a breed has the proper behavioral motor patterns. For example for Newfoundland dogs to be top winners in the show ring the flashier and bigger coated the dog the more it stands out. Which is not good breeding. A Newf when bred correctly should have an automatic desire for water and splash drive and be able to almost float. Watching a properly bred Newf swim is beyond amazing as they require little to no effort. I used to love watching our old Newf Solo whom my Sister did water rescue with swimming for hours without stopping. My Rottweiler would be doing her paddling and would tire after a while of swimming. Solo you could barely get out of the water. Our current Newf's do not have proper physical conformation for swimming because they do not have proper behavioral conformation. They look pretty, they did extremely well in the show ring but they cannot swim and instead require a lot of effort to stay afloat which is not what I consider proper for the breed.

As far as temperament I feel there are certain things a pup can pick up from the mother and father. Right now there is a lot of instability and aggression in Newf's and it seems to come from 2 top winning males that have "issues".

We also had a highly fearful Newf, she just passed away a few months ago. She had a good stable mother, stable father all the pups in the litter were stable and went on to never have any fear issues. The breeder kept Cassie and there was nothing abnormal at all about her upbringing, she was brought up exactly like all her other show Newf's. Cassie went to puppy classes, conformation classes to prepare her for show, obedience which she excelled at and obtained her CD. But as soon as she hit 2 years she developed phobia's and fears of every thing from men, shadows, wind, etc. At the dog shows she was fine unless another competitor moved something or there was something moved during the time she was there like a table etc. She was very sensitive to her surroundings. We worked with her through positive training and got her over a lot of things and my Sister took her to work at the grooming shop every day she worked. Cassie was very cautious. The breeder seems to think she developed an eye problem where she had depth issues. Cassie of course had been screened for everything but in the eye tests I guess they can't or don't screen for depth perception problems.

I have heard of different breeders using a female with issues and just removing her from the litter as soon as they were weaned to keep them from picking up and of her issues. I've seen that work out wonderfully and have seen these pups turn into wonderfully stable adults. The mother was never around them for the pups to pick anyting up...nurture.

My DobeX, he has the same characteristics that my Sisters past Dobe had from being a Velcro dog...to pushing your arm for attention etc. I know that isn't bred for but Dobes all seem to have the same sort of behavior and it's not something that is bred for. One thing I do find interesting is I recall reading an old AKC book and way back in the day the Dobe was supposed to be aloof and not trusting of strangers. They had to be muzzled and it was not considered a fault for them to try to bite the judge. I wish I could find that old AKC book again as it seems to me the Standards get rewritten a few times. A friend of mine helped re write the standard for the Newf for the CKC. I find that really interesting in regards to the Dobe in the old old standards...now the dobes (many that look like whippets) are super friendly. Sometimes when I hear my mother saying that when they were growing up in the 30's purebred dogs were said to be unstable and not to be trusted.

With Chance she is naturally fearful of strangers, once she does get to know them she never forgets them. I don't consider this a bad thing but perhaps more normal than dogs that just love everyone. Chance is a true survivor and just a natural dog.

I have also seen some pretty screwed up Golden's and Stnd Poodles lately as well. One of our clients who has always owned Golden's has one that is just backwards fearful. I think this is more due to show breedings looking for the next show winner and breeding for looks only, I sometimes thing this makes the breed fall apart at the seams. When someone asks me about buying a purebred I normally tell them watch out for kennels that breed for conformation champions only, look for someone who breeds for stability and working ability or at least does things with their dogs such as agility etc. I often wonder if trying to breed for conformation only but loosing the behavioral conformation is what helps create genetic health issues...the dog is no longer fitting together properly.

Whew, long post.

A good book to read if your interested in this is called Dogs by Raymond Coppinger. There are things that not everyone agrees with but I like the different ideas you can obtain.

 

[v-girl]

I have a almost purebred Husky with about 1/8 of Chow in him. He was taken from his mother at four weeks old, and placed with large agressive dogs and an abusive home until we got him at six weeks. Not knowing any of this info at all. He had agressive, dominant, possive and territority issues that were madning. The Chow in him was strong in him. Was that due to genetics or his short abusive and neglectful anti socilalizing? I do everything to protect him and others, with his drive to fight. Otherwise he was an excellant dog. We bred him with our Lab/husky who has an excellant disposition, friendly, mild mannered, yet stubborn. I had 24/7 contact with each of their ten puppies, and had to do all the discplining myself, as mom was only interested in nursing. We kept two of the pups, who are both excellant dogs, though they have taken on their father's traits of being protective. Then two of the homed pups came back, they were both severly abused, yet seem not to carry the protective gene. Was that from being abused? Or was that from their genetics? We also stayed in contact with all of the new puppy owners, who last we knew only had the one dog, none of their dogs have displayed any dominant aggressive traits. In fact the ones that carried more of their mothers genes are sweet and lovable without a trace of aggression.

And you can judge me any way you want about breeding a dog showing these traits, but I also believe that he taught me to be a better and more thorough breeder, knowing full well that damage that was done to him, taken from his mother and littermates at 4 weeks old and left to defend for himself in a hostile enviroment with aggressive dogs, that became his only socialization. At that time I was ignorant about trying to socialize him any further. He was a handful all by himself. I was with those pups 24/7 making sure the cycle wasn't repeated, read everything I could get my hands on, and in the process was able to help the father heal from his deep wounds that gashed him as a baby as I was able to better understand the psyche of why he acted the way he did. This has helped me to learn to manage his behaviors and I have watched him changed into such an awesome dog. Much more trustworthy than I could have ever thought. OH, and just for clarification, we took at 6 wks old, because our math was off and I thought he was 7 weeks old. As I would have never taken a dog that young, but now knowing all of the circumstances, I glad we saved him from that awful situation and got him when we did. I wouldn't take it back for all the money in the world.

So, I do believe it is both. I believe it has to do with their upbrining and also their gentics and learning how to utlilze them to work to both you and the dogs advantage. I have also seen the first hand damage of people are cruel with animals and suffering it causes. We chose to keep both pups that came back, who are both doing fine. It has taken a lot of patience, time and love to help them come back around.

 

[ihartgonzo]

He had agressive, dominant, possive and territority issues that were madning. The Chow in him was strong in him. Was that due to genetics or his short abusive and neglectful anti socilalizing?

I don't like the assumption that the "Chow in him was strong"... how do you know that? Chows have never been bred to be aggressive. Proud, loyal, and aloof with strangers, yes. It probably wasn't so much the Chow in him that was strong, as was many generations of unstable dogs and unscrupulous breeding practices in him, in addition to ZERO socialization with his litter or his Mother. A 4 week-old puppy is just barely able to get around and be weaned, much less learn social skills.

Then two of the homed pups came back, they were both severly abused, yet seem not to carry the protective gene. Was that from being abused? Or was that from their genetics?

I'm sure being abused didn't help them any. Breeding random mixed breeds, especially, can result in a complete mish-mash of possible appearances and temperaments in the offspring.

And you can judge me any way you want about breeding a dog showing these traits, but I also believe that he taught me to be a better and more thorough breeder, knowing full well that damage that was done to him, taken from his mother and littermates at 4 weeks old and left to defend for himself in a hostile enviroment with aggressive dogs, that became his only socialization.

I don't judge... but I do feel very, very sad for those puppies. Their parentage alone gives them a terrible chance at being happy, stable dogs. Let ALONE the puppies that were sold to abusive homes. To me, that is unforgivable. Gonzo also came to me with a schmorgasbord of issues, thanks to his breeding/breeder, and he improved drastically and taught me a lot. That does not mean that he deserves to be bred. To me, a lot of the instabilities that you talk about in the Husky x Chow are qualities that NO dog should possess, and the fact that those behaviors did manifest says a lot about the core temperament of the dog... that he is predisposed, genetically, to having a poor temperament. Plenty of dogs go through hardships/abuse/neglect and bounce back fairly quickly. To me, spending 2 weeks from 4-6 weeks of age with "aggressive" dogs is no excuse for serious temperament flaws. In addition to being removed from the litter too early, there has to be something amiss in his genetic temperament. I do think it's great that you took back the abused puppies and worked with them, most irresponsible breeders don't care enough to do that much.

 

[v-girl]

Sorry to disagree, but if Chows are not properly socialized, especially with their litter mates, learn no social skills they are very much aggressive, protective, and territorial. They were bred to protect kings. Huskies on the other hand are very gentle, well socialized dogs and are never used to guard. Which makes the Chow traits strong in him, because of him being unsocialized at all, practically from birth.

I never gave any puppies away willing to ANY abusive home. I screened people as thorough as possible, they were made to visit several times before they were allowed to pick up the dogs, and they were made to sign a contract, which included us being able to visit every couple of months or so. I studied under several breeders, though I do not claim to be one, I acted as if, no matter how you screen and try to protect, you can not predict what any one will do, how they train, and if they are abusive or not. Whether it is a swat on the behind, starving them, or using a pellet gun threatning to kill them. Animal shelters are full of them. Thousands apon thousand die because of it. Because believe me if it were up to my husband we would have kept them all. So we were very selective. And it still failed. Except that the owners knew we loved every puppy, and would do anything and everything to protect them, including taking them back, with no questions asked.

The beginning of socialization is between 4-8 weeks for puppies. It is were they learn to "be a dog" How can you say that this had no impact on the father taken from his mother and littermates for those two weeks? This is where they learn to be dogs, learn that certain bites hurt, and are discplined by the mother. This is when the are introduced to other dogs and people, learning how to interact with both. This is how they learn what is acceptable and not. Imagine a toddler trying to fend off an adults blow. How is he going to react? What is he going to learn? How is this going to impact his life? His behaviors? It sends a strong message to the toddler of how he needs to act. Fight or flight. He went on instincts to survive.

And probaby if was some stranger reading my own post, I would argue much the same. As there are enough problematic dogs and owners in this world and would highly hesitate the breeding of these two dogs. Ever had a higher calling to do something that everyone else thinks is wrong? Goes agaisnt the grain? I know both of the parents inside and out, I weighed all of the options, and was truly blessed with 10 beautiful puppies. There are no guarantees, no matter what the genes are, no matter how carefully selected that you can guarantee a perfect litter, with good temperment and disposition. And I'm curious, what did you find wrong with the mother's traits? Husky/lab mixes is one of the best mixes for temperment and disposition. The mother is an excellant dog, nothing wrong with her genes.

Yes, I took a risk, and it paid off in my eyes as all of the pups are healthy and no one has had any problems with their pups. Any aggressive tendency would have shown between 8-12 months. They are now 16 months. I can't explain it. Can you?

 

[Dekka]

Sorry to disagree, but if Chows are not properly socialized, especially with their litter mates, learn no social skills they are very much aggressive, protective, and territorial.

You know this isn't any different than the majority of breeds out there. Terriers aren't bred to protect but they can be highly aggressive if not properly socialized. It has very little to do with breed.. but a lot to do with breeding. A well bred dog (chows included) are easier to socalize than a poorly bred one.

 

[v-girl]

So can I ask, what is the difference between a well bred dog and a poorly bred one?

 

[lizzybeth727]

Yes, I took a risk, and it paid off in my eyes as all of the pups are healthy and no one has had any problems with their pups. Any aggressive tendency would have shown between 8-12 months. They are now 16 months. I can't explain it. Can you?

I disagree that aggression is seen only between 8-12 months.... In fact I've heard of MANY 2-year-olds show aggression for the first time, with no triggers other than simply growing up. I think this is particularly common in large breeds, where the dogs aren't even fully grown until at least 18 months. I'm not saying that you WILL see aggression in these puppies, but the risk is far too great for me to support your decision to breed that dog.

Plus, I see husky/lab mixes in the shelters every day.... How can you prove to me that your puppies are genetically better than the puppies in the shelter?

In fact the ones that carried more of their mothers genes are sweet and lovable without a trace of aggression.

High school biology teaches us that animals receive exactly half of their genes from their mother and half from their father. Did you mean to say temperment??

 

[ihartgonzo]

Sorry to disagree, but if Chows are not properly socialized, especially with their litter mates, learn no social skills they are very much aggressive, protective, and territorial. They were bred to protect kings. Huskies on the other hand are very gentle, well socialized dogs and are never used to guard. Which makes the Chow traits strong in him, because of him being unsocialized at all, practically from birth.

I have to agree with Dekka on this topic... honestly, I dislike the Chow stereotype. I know many stable, sweet Chows who were rescued from horrible beginnings. I have also met plenty of nasty Huskies. A poorly bred and poorly socialized puppy is just that regardless of breed. Particularly because your dog is much less Chow than he is Husky, it's a pretty unrealistic assumption that the Chow in him is the source of his aggression, and pretty hurtful to members of this forum who own wonderful Chow Chows.

no matter how you screen and try to protect, you can not predict what any one will do, how they train, and if they are abusive or not. Whether it is a swat on the behind, starving them, or using a pellet gun threatning to kill them. Animal shelters are full of them. Thousands apon thousand die because of it.

Honestly, I don't feel the same. I wouldn't even consider buying a puppy from a breeder who didn't befriend me BEFORE I was even put on a wait list for a puppy, nor a breeder who didn't actually do checks through out the puppy's life, and is assured that the puppy is going through puppy/obedience/socialization classes from day one. There is a difference between a clause that the breeder "can" visit/check the puppies and actually DOING it. I know that mistakes happen, but it seems like severe abuse doesn't easily get under the radar, if visits are taking place. Then again, I'm a control freak... I don't know what I would do with myself if I had to screen homes for puppies that I brought into the world. My head might just explode.

The beginning of socialization is between 4-8 weeks for puppies. It is were they learn to "be a dog" How can you say that this had no impact on the father taken from his mother and littermates for those two weeks?

I agree, that it is very important, but so is the rest of the 12 weeks in a puppy's socialization window. The real fear imprint period is 8-16 weeks, and while 4-6 weeks is also a very tender stage, I honestly question blaming those two weeks for a lifetime of an unstable temperament. Not that it didn't have any affect, but that the breeding and the core temperament of the puppy was unstable to begin with, IMHO. Real aggression, to me, has to have some genetic element.

There are no guarantees, no matter what the genes are, no matter how carefully selected that you can guarantee a perfect litter, with good temperment and disposition. And I'm curious, what did you find wrong with the mother's traits? Husky/lab mixes is one of the best mixes for temperment and disposition. The mother is an excellant dog, nothing wrong with her genes.

You're right. There are no 100% guarantees in anything, really. But you can definitely increase your chances of bringing healthy, stable lives into this world by breeding dogs who ARE genetically sound - both physically and mentally. Would I breed a dog with any history of aggression, period? Never. Like you said, there are enough dogs dying in shelters because of irresponsible, careless, selfish breeding of dogs due to an owner's personal attachment. I would not breed a dog simply for the fact that I loved that dog, because you also have to think of other people, the general public, and the future of those puppies and those puppies' puppies. I love my unstable dog more than I could love any other dog, but there is not a moment that I feel that he should reproduce, because I could not in good conscience bring lives into this world that could inherit those temperament flaws... regardless of how sweet/amazing/friendly the bitch was.

I have nothing to say, really, about the mother. Other than I disagree with breeding mixed breed dogs... except in cases where they are actual working dogs.

Yes, I took a risk, and it paid off in my eyes as all of the pups are healthy and no one has had any problems with their pups. Any aggressive tendency would have shown between 8-12 months. They are now 16 months. I can't explain it. Can you?

As Lizzybeth said, dogs don't reach social maturity until 2 years of age. Keep your fingers crossed until then. If puppies from a HA father all turn out to be stable dogs, that is awesome. But it's luck... and the fact is, if that luck runs out, you could be responsible for producing a dog that hurts some one, someday.

What is a well-bred dog? A dog who is exempliary of their breed, who performs the work that their breed was intended for, who has been screened for any genetic health issues (hips, elbows, eyes, etc), whose conformation is well within breed standard, who has the correct temperament for their breed, whose breeder knows their history and lineage front to back, etc, etc. In breeding mixed breed dogs as pets, I don't agree with it, but I would AT LEAST require that the dogs pass a CGC/TDI (temperament tests), has no history of aggression toward people or other dogs, and who has proven to be a stable and sound pet.