Nerve strength
A dog with strong nerves processes novelty without falling apart. It may startle — all dogs do — but it recovers in seconds, investigates rather than avoids, and does not generalise a single bad experience into a permanent fear.
We test nerve deliberately: unfamiliar surfaces, sudden noise, umbrellas, moving equipment, crowds, traffic and confined spaces. Dogs that need repeated reassurance are not placed as protection prospects.
Social neutrality
The ideal working dog is neither friendly nor hostile by default — it is neutral. It ignores passers-by, tolerates handling by a vet, and does not seek conflict with other dogs. Neutrality is far more useful than sociability and vastly safer than suspicion.
Drive balance
We profile prey, food, hunt, defence and social drives separately. A protection dog needs prey and fight drive with clean defensive engagement; a detection dog needs relentless hunt drive; a family working dog needs enough drive to train with and an off switch that works.
- Recovers from startle within seconds, not minutes
- Settles in the home without prompting
- Neutral with strangers, dogs and traffic
- Clear, honest engagement without avoidance or panic
Biddability and the off switch
The dog must want to work with a person. Biddability makes training faster, safer and more reliable. Equally important is the ability to switch off — to lie down in the house, in a vehicle or in a kennel and rest without stress behaviours.