I just came across this breed...and holy crap...it fits Oakley SO freaking well...
Not only look-wise...but the temperament. Their description is like *exactly* how I describe Oakley.
Here are some tidbits from a really long description of Canaans that I found:
- First of all, high intelligence. The Canaan, throughout his history, has been faced by the necessity of keeping one step ahead in order to survive, and to cope with constant changes in his environment due to the turbulent history of his homeland.
- The intelligence of the Canaan is quite different from that of many of the breeds that we are more familiar with. Herding dogs or hunting dogs, for instance, have been bred for many generations to be highly trainable and quick to learn what is expected of them, and then to be totally obedient and reliable in performance. This kind of obedient and submissive behavior has always been the example, to most dog lovers, of what canine intelligence is. The Canaan learns just as quickly as any other breed, and can learn as great a variety of commands and tasks.
- However, he is never blindly obedient. His response depends on him being sure that there is no danger to him in obeying, on his having complete trust and respect for his handler, and in feeling that doing what he is trained to do will bring him a positive benefit.
Love this example: You can take a German Shepherd (perhaps the breed most highly selected for total trainability and obedience) to the edge of a cliff and tell him to jump, and he will lick your hand and obediently jump. Tell a Canaan the same thing and he will look at you and say, You first!
- Another major characteristic is reactability.
- Another part of this is suspicion towards anything sudden or unfamiliar.
- The Canaan is highly suspicious of anything he is not familiar with and his tendency is to back off as long as he is not sure that it is safe.
- Another important temperament characteristic of the Canaan is his need for structure, to be part of a pack. He wants to know his place in the pack, and to have a leader that he can depend on. This gives him self-confidence and courage. If there is no leader, one of two things may happen. The dog may become totally lacking in self-confidence and be unable to cope with anything, and will then be labeled shy or cowardly. If he is a dog with a more dominant nature, he may decide that if there is no leader, than he will be the leader, and he becomes dominant, hard to control, and aggressive. This dog tries to lead, but doesnt have the experience to know how to react to various situations, and ends up making many mistakes, some of which may be serious.
- Associated with pack behavior is territoriality. The Canaan does not want strangers, whether human or animal, invading his territory, and he will do what is necessary to protect it. The territory includes not only an actual physical location, but whatever is within it, which may also be his humans, their possessions, other livestock and so on.
- As a function of the necessity to protect his territory and his pack, the Canaan will make use of aggression.
- they may find it necessary to react with a warning or more (if the warning is not heeded) if a stranger, dog or human, gets too close, thus invading our personal space, or is in some way threatening.
- Never underestimate your Canaan!
What do you guys think? Other sites talk about a critical period btw 1-2 yrs old when they have a "fear stage" - I have a feeling my fam didn't do a very good job managing that
Other sites talk about them grumbling & being vocal...Oakley is always friggin grumbling, especially if I ask him to do something he doesn't want to do (which goes along with them getting bored easily doing the same command...or just not obeying it at that moment cause they dont really see the point).
Or do you think this breed is just way to rare?
Not only look-wise...but the temperament. Their description is like *exactly* how I describe Oakley.
Here are some tidbits from a really long description of Canaans that I found:
- First of all, high intelligence. The Canaan, throughout his history, has been faced by the necessity of keeping one step ahead in order to survive, and to cope with constant changes in his environment due to the turbulent history of his homeland.
- The intelligence of the Canaan is quite different from that of many of the breeds that we are more familiar with. Herding dogs or hunting dogs, for instance, have been bred for many generations to be highly trainable and quick to learn what is expected of them, and then to be totally obedient and reliable in performance. This kind of obedient and submissive behavior has always been the example, to most dog lovers, of what canine intelligence is. The Canaan learns just as quickly as any other breed, and can learn as great a variety of commands and tasks.
- However, he is never blindly obedient. His response depends on him being sure that there is no danger to him in obeying, on his having complete trust and respect for his handler, and in feeling that doing what he is trained to do will bring him a positive benefit.
Love this example: You can take a German Shepherd (perhaps the breed most highly selected for total trainability and obedience) to the edge of a cliff and tell him to jump, and he will lick your hand and obediently jump. Tell a Canaan the same thing and he will look at you and say, You first!
- Another major characteristic is reactability.
- Another part of this is suspicion towards anything sudden or unfamiliar.
- The Canaan is highly suspicious of anything he is not familiar with and his tendency is to back off as long as he is not sure that it is safe.
- Another important temperament characteristic of the Canaan is his need for structure, to be part of a pack. He wants to know his place in the pack, and to have a leader that he can depend on. This gives him self-confidence and courage. If there is no leader, one of two things may happen. The dog may become totally lacking in self-confidence and be unable to cope with anything, and will then be labeled shy or cowardly. If he is a dog with a more dominant nature, he may decide that if there is no leader, than he will be the leader, and he becomes dominant, hard to control, and aggressive. This dog tries to lead, but doesnt have the experience to know how to react to various situations, and ends up making many mistakes, some of which may be serious.
- Associated with pack behavior is territoriality. The Canaan does not want strangers, whether human or animal, invading his territory, and he will do what is necessary to protect it. The territory includes not only an actual physical location, but whatever is within it, which may also be his humans, their possessions, other livestock and so on.
- As a function of the necessity to protect his territory and his pack, the Canaan will make use of aggression.
- they may find it necessary to react with a warning or more (if the warning is not heeded) if a stranger, dog or human, gets too close, thus invading our personal space, or is in some way threatening.
- Never underestimate your Canaan!
What do you guys think? Other sites talk about a critical period btw 1-2 yrs old when they have a "fear stage" - I have a feeling my fam didn't do a very good job managing that
Other sites talk about them grumbling & being vocal...Oakley is always friggin grumbling, especially if I ask him to do something he doesn't want to do (which goes along with them getting bored easily doing the same command...or just not obeying it at that moment cause they dont really see the point).
Or do you think this breed is just way to rare?
