Puppies get their nails clipped - insights to personality

People have been asking me about the personality of these puppies. There will always be a debate about how much of a dogs temperament is genetic and how much is due to its environment and training. I want to go a little bit more into temperament, so I am going to divide it into 3 parts. Genetics, Early socialization (birth to 16 weeks), and later training. For this post I am going to concentrate on Genetics.



Personally, I believe that at the end of the day genetics and early socialization will always win. A good trainer can mask genetics. They can train out certain behaviors, but if that behavior is innate then the dog will always have a tendency to revert back to that behavior when under stress. I also tend to think of temperament on a sliding scale. One example of this is shyness. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being a very outgoing dog and 10 being an extremely shy dog. Good early socialization can move the puppy 2 points in either direction. I believe that this movement is more permanent and more difficult to influence later. Good training can probably only move them about another 2 points in either direction on the scale once their personality is set and this training is less permanent. However, where they start on the scale is solely based on Genetics.



Personality traits are inherited from each parent. How those traits combine creates the overall temperament of the puppy and its unique personality. These are the bricks in the puppy's foundation. Everything else builds from here. This is also the reason I will never breed my female dog to a male I have not either met in person or do not have someone I trust who has met the dog. Temperament is known to be highly heritable. Research suggests that it only take 3 generations of selective breeding to completely change the temperament of a bloodline. This is why Breed Specific Legislation will never work. Based upon this information it would only take 3 generations to breed the friendliness out of a Labrador.



The parents of these puppies both have really nice friendly Great Dane temperaments. They both love people. Lily loves everyone and has never met a stranger. Warlock is the same way and often goes to work with his mom who is a groomer. I expect their puppies to be the same way. While it is too young to tell the specific personalities of these pups, I have had some insights. Of course the pups are really young and it will be interesting to see if my initial perceptions change as they get older.


A couple of days ago I clipped the puppies' nails for the first time. This required me to hold the puppies still and enabled me to see their reactions to human restraint. Human restraint is a componant of almost all puppy temperament tests. However, remember that these tests are not given until the pups are 7 + weeks old, so the amount of information you can get from them on a 3 week old is likely limited.


The most easy going puppy was the Orange Collared fawn boy. He struggled mildly, then relaxed and was very compliant. This behavior along with my other observations of him makes me believe that he would be an excellent dog for a family with children. He doesn't get upset about much and is willing to be manipulated. This is a good trait for a dog that may have kids dressing him up or pulling his ears.


The Brindle boy struggled the most. This really doesn't surprise me as he has always been the most active puppy and seems to be into everything. This boy will definitely need to be crate trained and have appropriate toys provided.


The Brindle girl struggled some and then she just complained. I haven't quite figured her out yet. She's very playful and is always right in the middle of everything.


Yellow collar boy struggled a bit more than orange but he relaxed too. I think this boy may be more of the lazy type. He's going to try to use his weight to his advantage (still the largest) and when that doesn't work he'll likely accept things and then go take a nap.


Black collar struggled the most of the fawns. He is also a very active puppy. He seems to be more of a thinker. He will likely make the better obedience dog of the fawns. He is always exploring and seems to be more independent.


Anyway, just a few insights. I will be interested to see if I have the same opinions in a week or so.


I plan to make another video soon, so keep checking the website and blog.