I was taught on the coape course many moons ago that bull breeds could produce opiods when in pain, therefore giving them a high which they would want to repeat. However when i last said this on the forum i was shot down in flames, I have come across loads of bull breedsin the course of my work that do similar things to your dog and have yet to come across a better explanation.

some dogs have high pain thresholds. i.e. it takes a lot for them to feel pain - e.g. guide dogs. so if someone accidently drops something on them, or steps on their tail, they don't scream, become fearful, have a bad association etc etc.

so, what may be regarded as painful for some dogs, may not be for others.

the others may just think it's praise.... human affection.

pain can be used to motivate dogs, absolutely, to avoid stimulations, avoid pressure - all which can make a dog perform faster/better when done correctly.

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Cambridge Dog Training School | G3 Dogs
www.g3dogs.com

Think I remember something like that, where tryptophan was confused with endorphins.

In past, I have pointed out that even us wimpy Humans, when faced with extreme danger block off pain, so bomber crews would land damaged planes and then be suddenly helpless as soon as they touched down and felt safe. Or people have self-amputated after having accidents meaning they were trapped and realised help was not coming.

The endorphin (opiod) business is something that occurs in other Mammals, and Humans can definitely become addicted to such states of mind, it feels euphorically good.

Hopefully one would prefer methods avoiding pain, and only recourse to such action after ethical consideration?

Most use of aversive methods by general public and advocates on here, seems irresponsibly inconsiderate of the effective proven alternatives or the frequent fall out. Their convenience and individual preference appears to be the key consideration.

Still looking for references/peer review on that one Jenny But certainly don't remember the flames bit - I at the time asked for referencing on that and also explained that as far as I knew opiods are produced in the mammal brain, rather than specificially the bull breeds.
Apologies if you felt that I shot you down.

I work almost always with bullies of various types. These and other types have high arousal levels - their inhibitions can be low if a ton of self control work is not done. This makes sense in light of what these dogs were 'designed' for. But I think that these examples in this Staffie mix are slightly displaced and not really seen in response to arousal - perhaps they are but the picture isn't complete her.

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Anne, owned by Rufus & Tripod

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