VomSteinbruch
FNG
The “off switch,” which is closely related to stimulus threshold, is largely genetic. No amount of training can fully create it if it is not already present to some degree. A dog must have at least a solid genetic foundation for mental stability.
Some skilled trainers are able to mask a dog’s inherited neurotic tendencies and create what appears to be an “off switch,” at least on the surface. However, it often reveals itself in unexpected situations.
What they are really doing is conditioning the dog to behave in specific ways in specific contexts through reward and correction. The dog learns that certain environments or situations act as mental boundaries, restricting certain behaviors, and it accepts those boundaries. For example, whining in the crate or in a blind is not allowed, so the dog suppresses the behavior, even though the underlying urge remains due to a low stimulus threshold, which is largely genetic.
As the dog matures and the trainer introduces more of these “mental boundaries,” the dog adjusts its behavior accordingly. However, if the dog is not naturally level-headed, it will struggle to regulate itself in situations where those boundaries have not been clearly established. That’s when things can fall apart.
No training truly fixes this: it is more of a management technique developed by experienced trainers.
You can sometimes see this in dogs sitting quietly in a duck blind. On the surface, they appear calm, but it is often clear that they are tense underneath. An unfamiliar stimulus can trigger a sudden release of that internal pressure, and the dog may become uncontrollable, at least temporarily.
I’ve witnessed this firsthand during a test where a driven hunt was being simulated. A group of dogs was lined up along a forest road, and the requirement was that each dog remain lying down and quiet. Barking would result in disqualification.
A handful of hunters and beaters began working perpendicular to our line in the woods, creating noise by striking bushes and trees with poles. There was a dog next to me that got up as soon as the intensity of the noise increased. At first, it began to whine very softly, which alone would have cost it points, but as the beaters approached closer, started shouting, and firing blanks, the dog completely lost control. It broke, ran toward the beaters, and started barking at them.
The dog ultimately failed the test.
The owner later said that she had spent a significant amount of time preparing for this portion of the test and had managed to get the dog to remain quiet under controlled conditions. However, as soon as something unfamiliar occurred, the dog’s “off switch”, which had only been developed on the surface, fell apart.
