Share examples of good nerve!

[Castlemaid]

To help people understand what we mean when we talk about "good nerve", I thought I could start a thread where we can share examples about our dogs.
This thread would be specifically to showcase behaviour that exemplifies strong, solid nerve.

For example:

I took Gryffon when he was about 9 or 10 months old into an arena to watch hockey practice. We walked up the open grating stairs to the entrance, walked in and sat down. It was a zoo with the noise level completely deafening! People shouting, coaches blowing whistles, skates screeching on the ice, kids hitting the boards, pucks flying everywhere bouncing off the plexiglass guards, small figures with huge helmets zipping around at crazy speeds: Gryffon sat down on a bench and watched everything with interest. Broke his focus to suck up to little kids coming up to pet him, then turned his attention back to all the going-ons on the ice.

After about twenty minutes, he got bored and decided to lie down!

Also, just today, for example, I stopped in at work after hours - I work in a helicopter Maintenance Center. The hangar was semi-dark and deserted. Since no one was here, I let him off leash to explore. He explored the whole place, sniffed every piece of equipment, crawled under every helicopter, checked out every tool box, inspected every engine on a stand, and made sure that the paper work was all up to snuff!!!

I stood in one area, he was completely comfortable and showed 100% confidence being out of my sight, in the semi-darkness, in this huge, cavernous place full of really weird stuff, moving through the place tail wagging, head held high!

Your turn!

[W.Oliver]

My neighbor is one of those guys who is always wrenching on something. The other day it was a cafe type motorcycle...tricked out for the drag strip, with a huge slick and wheelie bar. Indy and I were shootin' breeze with him while he tinkered on the bike in his garage....when he apparently decided the bike should be tested, and turned over the engine. I am ashamed to say, I jumped, and my girlie shreek couldn't be heard over the sound of the motor.....what bothered me is that Indy didn't move...just stood there with a curious look. In fact, this bike, sounding like a deep throated chain saw with the neighbor revving it up....over and over...while I freaked, Indy watched me, then looked at the motorcycle, then back at me...as if to say..."pansy!". If she would have dashed to the end of the leash and then recovered, I would have felt better about my startled reaction!

[Syaoransbear]

Once when I was at the cabin, I was walking Chrono around the campsite in the middle of the night off leash. It was raining a bit, so thankfully I had on all of my rain gear. Then it started absolutely pouring with tonnes of thundering and lightening. The only time I could even see Chrono was when the lightening lit up the sky in a flash and a loud boom.

But he didn't even notice! He was more concerned with playing in the puddles and getting as muddy as possible . It took us another 30 minutes to get back, and he was totally fine the whole way. It was as if the thunder, lightening, and rain didn't even exist.

ETA: Of course then there's me, my nerves are so bad that when I yell a bit too loudly I scare myself.

[doggiedad]

>>>> our dog watched the fire works with us and they
were being fired a block away. he didn't flinch (i did).

>>>> was in a crowd of 5,000 people. walked off leash.
there were other dogs there off leash also.

>>>> i pulled the silverware drawer out to far and it
fell near him. he casually looked over but he
didn't get up.

>>>> stood next to a guy (off leash) while the
guy shot a potato gun several times.

>>>> i tripped over him in the dark once and never got up.

>>>> he doesn't leave the room/house when i play
guitar and i suck.

>>>> walked across a grid floor bridge that's 100 ft in the air
with no problem.

>>>> rides backwards when in our Subaru wagon
and looks out the back window.

[onyx'girl]

I don't have "an incident" really but just what I see day to day.
After having dogs with nerves that aren't so strong, having one that is solid is so much more enjoyable to live with.

A pontoon boat ride at 10 weeks, the wind/rains started in, puppy showed no reaction, the ride back was long and bumpy. Storm didn't phase him, but it would have sent my other two cowering underneath my feet.

Parade with people, horses, sirens, gunfire~ puppy showed no hesitation at 3 months of age.
Amtrak train zooming by at the same time, no biggie.
We see deer on a hike and adolescent doesn't bark or try to chase when deer run, but just observe.
Other dogs are not to react at or try to play with, just look at happily!
Taking the dog onto new surfaces/obstacles with no hesitation...the first A-frame experience was no big deal and an agility tunnel intro a couple weeks back, entered it joyfully and went in again and again!

I wish I had the nerves my dog has!

>> he doesn't leave the room/house when i play
guitar and i suck

LOL doggieDad! I bet he loves the music you make

[cassadee7]

I take my pup to the Kindergarten playground several times a week. It is so crazy... about 35-40 children (ages 2 through 6) running, screaming, climbing, sometimes throwing things or crying or racing past us, but Saber sits on the loose leash and watches. After awhile she lies down by my feet and observes. Kids run within a foot of her face sometimes and she just watches. She only gets up or moves when they come over to pet her, and then she sits, puts her ears back and licks them. Everyone says, "I have never seen a puppy that calm."

[Minnieski]

Hmmm...noticing a lot of Wildhaus dogs in these posts...

[Miss Molly May]

One very noticeable thing we do that shows Molly 's nerves is when I take her to my wifes school to meet 25 grade 4 students. The kids run around her and crowd her with a tonne of hands touching her and she is totally relaxed

[Lin]

Tessa is my service dog, and I have to admit she made the training easy

She's taken everything new in stride. All sorts of bizarre things... I went to a jazz concert at a university here, and the place was packed. I'm 5'3 and my knees practically touched the seat in front of me, and I had my bf on one side and a stranger on the other side. Tessa curled up in a tight little ball between my legs and the seat in front of me and didn't budge.

First time in a glass elevator she looked out the glass with interest and shifted her footing suddenly when it started moving, then just went "oh ok I know what this is."

I'm trying to think of more examples but the way that its no big deal no matter what I throw at her means most things didn't leave an impression on my memory!

[JanaeUlva]

The thread "locked in prey" has some good descriptions of good nerve in dogs. I've been impressed with my pup's solid nerve in various "environmental" situations, such as people are describing here so far. The ability to handle loud noises and chaotic situations.

She also shows confidence in situations where the footing is unusual, like rocking piers, metal fire escapes, and my personal favorite are the deep, grate covered pits with heated air blasting up that are used in boiler heated buidlings. We walked in crowds of protesters with drums, kazoos, and bullhorns. I've had 10 - 20 kids run like a little human herd of buffalo over to pet her.

Obviously, this environmental confidence in our puppies are a really good thing. I wonder how this translates over, however, to the nerve needed in the protection activities that many of us want to participate in with our GSD dogs. Meaning, is there usually a direct correlation in strengh of environmental nerve with protection related nerve?

It seems like nerves can come in different colors: noise, footing, situational chaos, protection, etc.