| This is a very slippery topic, but I'll toss my two cents in.
The difference between European and American dogs is vast. They are now two separate breeds as it pertains to use.
To generalize, European dogs are bred to work -- as personal protections dogs, military dogs and civil (police) dogs in accordance with the original breed standard. American dogs have been for some time bred for the show ring and as pets.
This divergence shows up in a dog's genetic programming. The drives that govern a dog's temperament (prey, defense, fight, and avoidance) come from genetics, not training (perfect training cannot supplant incorrect genetics). Meaning, that without the right bloodlines, the dogs are incapable of dealing with the stress of bite training and handler protection. As it is, most dogs (even schutzhund dogs) are too weak nerved and will show avoidance and run when threatened by a human being (who knows what he or she is doing).
Because prey and fight drive are 100% inherited, you cannot train these into a dog, and without them you have a breed that is a mere shadow of its former and intended self. Which, in my opinion, is what we have today.
Now, I'm not saying there aren't lots of working type jobs at which American dogs won't do very well. It's really a matter of degree. Can an American dog get a Sch1 or a even a Sch3? Be a search and rescue dog or get obedience titles? Sure! And I've seen it. But what I'm talking about is the original design of the breed.
So, without getting Tolstoy long, that's my nutshell version of how American and European dogs differ. |