Quote Originally Posted by skipper
That is my experience as well. Don't know if people agree, but in my experience an extremely fight crazy dog seldom are as smart and calculating as a calmer and more laid back dog. This might just be in my own experience. What are your thoughts on this jack?

It makes perfect sense, if you think about it.

Part of ability is intelligence ... and part of intelligence is judgment. The dog who is able to judge other dogs correctly is almost by definition "savvy" ... which will naturally spill over into combat areas. Further, part of courage is confidence, and part of self-confidence is poise. A dog that is able to keep his composure, and accurately-assess the situations he's in ... if he's got the genetics in him to be a talented, game dog in the [] ... is only going to be that much better as both a performer and an overall animal.

By contrast, the "high-strung, geeky" types, while they may be fun to watch and they may look good if they have the physical advantages ... often fall apart if they meet their equal or better ... simply because they do not have the natural poise to keep it together while they're behind. I have seen a lot of "hyper" dogs pretty much go to pieces if under the absolute dominance of a better foe. They just can't take it mentally.

It almost always seems to be the truly calm, poised, highly-intelligent dogs that keep it together if they're behind ... as they slowly, deliberately work their way out of the situation with calm, dogged determination.

Jack