AA Litter Temperament Tests
Mr. Blue went to Colorado for agility and possibly Search & Rescue. Miss Pink went to Ohio as a pet, to the people who have her half brother Xtra! (X Litter). Mr. Rainbow stayed in Sheridan as a pet.
Miss Purple is available. She could very well make a working dog. She could also go as a pet to an active family.
***
The AA Litter was tested when 54 days old.
The main difference I see between the police/narcotics test and the SAR test is the attitude of the tester. In the police test, the tester is very quiet, talking little and using very little body movements. No other people are present and the environment is kept quiet. In the SAR test, the tester is enthusiastic and uses lots of verbal praise and body movements to get the pup “up” and gives lots of praise. Other people are present, walking around, talking, and generally making for a noisy, busy environment. This would fit well with the ultimate purpose of the dogs being tested for both types of training. In police work the dog must be able to dig down deep inside himself or herself to find the courage and aggression to confront a criminal and/or to search independently and at great distance from the handler. In SAR the handler is usually closer to the dog and is able to praise and encourage him, especially in extended searches. There is also generally all kinds of activity and distraction at a search scene so the dog must be able to filter out the extraneous activity and focus on her job. Both tests are fascinating to watch as is the difference in the pups’ responses in each test. My usual tester is moving out of state, so this was the first litter with a new tester. The new tester talked more to the pups during the test, rewarded with bits of food, and generally had more body movement during the different exercises, so the difference between Police Exercises and SAR exercises was much less.
The Police Dog/Narcotics Dog Temperament Test:
Results are listed after the description of each part of the Test.
1. Acceptance/Attachment The first test involves evaluating the pup's acceptance of the strange place and its willingness to interact with the stranger. Ideal reaction is eye contact and interest in the stranger but no sign of nervousness in the interaction (we don’t want a "Protect me!" attitude), followed by visual investigation of the surroundings and then a return of attention to the tester.
Blue Male: Excellent
Pink Female: Excellent
Purple Female: Excellent Instant eye contact
Rainbow Male: Excellent
2. Pain Sensitivity The loose skin over the ribs is gently pinched and the pup's reaction is noted. Ideal reaction is to notice the pinch but be unconcerned by it. We also look for a willingness to forgive the tester.
Blue Male: Excellent
Pink Female: Above Average
Purple Female: Above Average
Rainbow Male: Above Average
3. Retrieve Next, willingness to retrieve is evaluated using different toys: a stuffed toy, and a tennis ball. Ideal reaction is to repeatedly being the toy back to the handler rather than moving off to "possess" it. The type of bite on the toys is evaluated: a full mouth bite shows more confidence and drive than a front-teeth-only bite.
Blue Male: Minimal on ball; Average on toy
Pink Female: Average on both ball and toy
Purple Female: Minimal on both ball and toy
Rainbow Male: Minimal on both ball and toy
4. Perseverance Then perseverance is evaluated by seeing how enthusiastically they will pursue, grab hold, and tug on a sack. Ideal reaction is to pursue enthusiastically, grasp with a full mouth bite, tug and do everything possible to posses the sack. We like to see a pup get its whole body on the sack in an effort to subdue it.
Blue Male: Average
Pink Female: Average
Purple Female: Average
Rainbow Male: Minimal
5. Courage and Aggression Next, courage and aggression was evaluated using an electric train that when turned on moves erratically, whistles loudly, clanks, etc. Will they stand their ground? Will they go investigate it? Excellent reaction is to go to the moving, clanking train and check it out. Extremely excellent reaction is to actually attack it while it moves. Good reaction is to investigate it after the tester turns it off. The tester encourages the pup to investigate after it is turned off, if it wouldn't while it was “singing” and moving. She notes how much encouragement is needed.
Blue Male: Excellent
Pink Female: Excellent
Purple Female: Above Average
Rainbow Male: Excellent
6. Fear Then a metal coffee can filled with metal items (nails, bolts, etc.) is dropped behind them from a height of about 2 feet while they are looking away from it. Will the pup hold its ground and then go look at what dropped from nowhere? Excellent reaction is to acknowledge and turn towards the sound and then confidently go see what made the racket. The tester encourages the pup to investigate, if it doesn't on its own. She notes how much encouragement is needed. I find most of my pups look towards the racket and keep on playing with the toy they had, rather than stopping their play to go investigate.
Blue Male: Excellent
Pink Female: Excellent
Purple Female: Excellent
Rainbow Male: Excellent
7. Surprise The last test involves getting the pup to chase you (or a toy or the burlap sack) towards a doorway, from behind which an umbrella is opened suddenly and then lowered to the ground, still open. They are evaluated on how they recover from being startled and if they'll go investigate. Ideal reaction is for the pup to startle but hold its ground, then move right up to check out the umbrella. A super excellent reaction is to go up and bite it and/or walk all over it. The tester encourages the pup to investigate after the umbrella is on the ground, if it doesn't on its own. She notes how much encouragement is needed.
Blue Male: Excellent
Pink Female: Excellent
Purple Female: Above Average
Rainbow Male: Excellent
Search And Rescue Test
Submission Test The submission test is designed to give an idea of the pup’s tractability, trust in humans, and willingness to submit to a human’s directives. In the submission test the pup is held firmly on its back for a short period of time. The tester counts the seconds it takes for him to resist, then accept, the restraint. She should not passively accept the restraint, nor should she panic or show avoidance of eye contact. Ideal reaction is to resist, then submit and look the tester in the face. We also look for a willingness to forgive the tester.
Blue Male: Above Average
Pink Female: Above Average
Purple Female: Above Average
Rainbow Male: Above Average
Unstable Footing Since SAR dogs will search in all kinds of terrain and areas of destruction, they must be confident in insecure situations. We used a plastic tarp and a plank resting unevenly on a piece of round post. All pups did great.
Hunt for Toy The tester will play with the pup with a toy, then suddenly hide it under the tarp or other object to see if the pup will search for it, using its nose.
Blue Male: Minimal
Pink Female: Average
Purple Female: Average
Rainbow Male: Minimal
Hunt for Food Test 1: Tester bounces piece of bacon tied to string, to get pup’s attention, then drags it to see if pup will put nose down and follow. Test 2: As part of the game she’s playing with the pup, asking it to use its nose to find pieces of food, the tester will place pieces of food under the tarp and low dogwalk so that the pup must actively use its nose to find all the food.
Blue Male: Above Average
Pink Female: Excellent
Purple Female: Excellent
Rainbow Male: Above Average
Hunt for Food, Test 2: As part of the game she’s playing with the pup, asking it to use its nose to find pieces of food, the tester will place pieces of food under the tarp and planks so that the pup must actively use its nose to find all the food.
Blue Male: Excellent Methodical, systematic use of nose
Pink Female: Excellent
Purple Female: Excellent
Rainbow Male: Excellent
Tester Comments:
Blue Male: Puppy very intent on finding food both on food drag and on his own looking under the tarp. Played with toys, tugged some, no retrieve.
Pink Female: Puppy very nosy. Smelled food and hunted avidly until she found it. Played with toys until she smelled the food.
Purple Female: Very handler focused. Was more interested in tracking and hunting for food than in toys. Not bothered by noise or umbrella.
Rainbow Male: Very earnest & methodical search for food. Did not have any interest in toys—possibly because he smelled food on tarp and that kept his interest.
For interest, I include the puppies’ parents, and a grandparent’s temperament test results below. Chaos’ breeder did not do a formal temperament test, so we did one when he arrived. He was 8 weeks old. All three tests were done by my original tester, the former police K9 handler.
Chaos
Attachment: Above Average. Nice! No problem with adjustment.
Confidence:
Sensitivity: Excellent
Retrieve: Average. Somewhat interested in other things as well. Easily encouraged.
Perseverance: Average. Very nice. Looked at other objects.
Fear: Excellent. Looked at can, then went about business.
Aggression Excellent. Did everything but pick it up. (toy used was an electric train that when & Courage: turned on moved erratically, whistled loudly, clanked, etc.)
Surprise: Above Average. Not fair test but no problem. Looked at umbrella and investigated person.
Submission: Above Average. 5 seconds. Was squirming. Made eye contact once.
Hunt for Toy: Above Average. Pretty good. Couldn’t decide which toy he liked better.
Hunt for Food: Above Average. Very good. Fairly systematic.
Tester Comments: Nice pup – very solid and courageous. Has a good bit, full mouthed with toys and pull toy. Nice reaction to train and umbrella. Gets along with other dogs well (met her dogs afterwards). Good nose – found food easily and liked looking for it, followed direction of handler. Nicely encouraged. Great little boy!
Quinta
The Q Litter was tested on October 30th & 31st, when they were 46 & 47 days old. Results are listed after the description of each part of the Test. An extensive Search & Rescue test was done on the 30th, with some retesting on the 31st after the police/narcotics test, if the SAR tester (Janet) hadn’t been satisfied with the pup’s reactions the day before. For the SAR test, we took the pups to a rural schoolyard which had a very large grassy field. Heavy rain the day before made the field too soggy for the entire test, so most of the exercises were done in the playground area which is deep in wood chips. The chips proved to be way too highly tempting to the pups and Janet had to clear their mouths often to get them to go after the toys rather than the chips. Results are listed after the description of each part of the Test. You will note that some exercises are done in both tests and other exercises are unique to one test or the other. Janet was the primary tester, with Kelly, another SAR person, adding her ratings on some tests. A table with scores from every phase of the test is listed after the test explanation. Pups reactions are rated on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being excellent.
Temperament Test 1: the Search & Rescue test
Tug, Prey Drive, Chase, Retrieve Drive, Bite The first series of tests involve the pup's desire to play, chase the toy, how well the pup bites and hold the toy when he or she gets it, and whether the pup will bring it back to the tester.
Strange Noise, Unstable Surface The pups are exposed to both a strange, potentially scary noise and an unstable surface. In this particular test we used a plastic tarp draped over a camp chair. Janet also invented some additional tests by asking the pups to negotiate a metal grating on the playground equipment, to climb a series of wood sections that ended with a widow and a 6’ drop to the ground. Janet tested the pups’ trust by handing them down to a helper and noting their reactions.
Hunt for Food and Hunt for Toys The pups are tested to determine their desire to find the toy when it's hidden, and to find food. The toy was hidden under the tarp and the pup encouraged to look for it. A piece of bacon on a string was drug and bounced past the pups to test their desire to use their noses when they couldn't see the bacon. Janet took off fast with the bacon drag and ran way out into the field behind the school. Only three pups noticed this first run (one of whom was Quinta), so Janet repeated it twice more to give all pups a chance to be tested. It is fascinating to see those little noses go to the ground and guide the galloping pups after Janet when she outruns them.
Submission, Forgiveness, Socialability The pups are graded on their desire to interact with and play with the tester. For the submission test, each pup was placed on its back and held down firmly for about 10 seconds. Desirable reaction includes struggle followed by acceptance. Undesirable reactions include total passivity or frantic struggle with refusal to "give" to the human, or trying to bite. The pup is judged afterwards on its willingness to forgive the tester for the submission test. The pup is also held in the air at arms length to judge its confidence in being unsupported.
Confidence Janet also invented some additional tests by asking the pups to negotiate a metal grating on the playground equipment, to climb a series of wood sections that ended with a widow and a 6’ drop to the ground. Janet then further tested the pups’ trust and confidence by handing them down to a helper and noting their reactions.
|
Test |
Rating |
|
|
Tug |
Janet |
10+, really grips |
|
Kelly |
10 |
|
|
Prey |
Janet |
10 |
|
Kelly |
10 |
|
|
Retrieve |
Janet |
5 |
|
Kelly |
6 |
|
|
Unstable Surface |
Janet |
10 |
|
Kelly |
10 |
|
|
Forgiveness |
Janet |
8 |
|
Kelly |
10 |
|
|
Socialibility |
Janet |
10 |
|
Kelly |
10 |
|
|
Chase |
Janet |
10 |
|
Kelly |
10 |
|
|
Hunt for Food |
Janet |
10 |
|
Hunt for Toy |
Janet |
No |
|
Noise |
Janet |
10 |
|
Kelly |
10 |
|
|
Submission |
Janet |
8 |
|
Kelly |
8 |
|
|
Bite |
Janet |
10 |
|
Kelly |
10 |
|
|
Trust |
Janet |
Good |
Temperament Test 2: The police dog/narcotics dog test
Saturday had been a beautiful day, but Sunday brought a storm with wind and rain mixed with snow. We had to do the test in a large unheated garage. The police test is quite different from the Search & Rescue Test. The main difference I noticed in the SAR test was that the testers played with the pups at the same time, and evaluated them for all of the above as they played with them. They were also much more physically active and used excited voices and clapping to encourage the pups, while the tester in the police test is very calm and low key, asking the pups to draw the excitement forth from within themselves. Another difference was that other people stood around just feet from and in full view of each pup as it was tested. In the police test only the tester is within sight or scent of the pup during the testing and everyone was required to be very quiet.
Suzan (former police K9 officer) was the main tester, with Janet hiding to open the umbrella on the surprise test. Janet (SAR) also gave ratings on some of the test. Her ratings are listed in italics after Suzan’s. She used the SAR scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being excellent.
1. Acceptance/Attachment The first test involves evaluating the pup's acceptance of the strange place and its willingness to interact with the stranger. Ideal reaction is interest in the stranger but no sign of nervousness in the interaction ("Protect me!"), followed by investigation of the surroundings and return to the tester. The pups who got a Very Good rating showed a little more independence (somewhat more interest in surroundings than tester) than the ones who were rated Excellent. An average rating usually indicates a pup who was somewhat uninterested in the strange person.
Excellent 8
2. Pain Sensitivity The loose skin over the ribs is gently pinched and the pup's reaction is noted. Ideal reaction is to notice the pinch but be unconcerned by it. Nearly all the pups continued wagging their tails during the pinch, an excellent reaction.
Excellent
3. Retrieve Next, willingness to retrieve is evaluated using different toys: a stuffed toy, and a tennis ball. Ideal reaction is to repeatedly being the toy back to the handler rather than moving off to "possess" it.
High Average 5
4. Unstable Surfaces Suzan used a cushion to test the pup’s reaction to unstable surfaces, asking it to continue tugging while being dragged over the cushion.
Excellent 10
5. Perseverance Then perseverance is evaluated by seeing how enthusiastically they will pursue, grab hold, and tug on a burlap sack. Ideal reaction is to pursue enthusiastically, grasp with a full mouth bite, tug and do everything possible to posses the sack.
Excellent Tug: 10 Prey: 10
6. Courage and Aggression Next, courage and aggression is evaluated using an electric train that when turned on moves erratically, whistles loudly, clanks, etc. Will they stand their ground? Will they go investigate it? Excellent reaction is to go to the moving, clanking train and check it out. Extremely excellent reaction is to actually attack it while it moves. Good reaction is to investigate it after the tester turns it off. The tester encourages the pup to investigate after the train is turned off, if it wouldn't while the train was clanking and moving. She notes how much encouragement is needed.
Above Average 10
7. Fear Then a metal pan filled with horseshoes is dropped from a height of about 2 feet while they are looking away from it. Will the pup hold its ground and then go look at what dropped from nowhere? Excellent reaction is to acknowledge and turn towards the sound and then confidently go see what made the racket. The tester encourages the pup to investigate, if it doesn't on its own. She notes how much encouragement is needed. I find most of my pups look towards the racket and keep on playing with the toy they had, rather than stopping their play to go investigate.
Excellent 10
8. Surprise The last test involves getting the pup to chase you (or a toy or the burlap sack) towards a tree, from behind which an umbrella is opened suddenly and then lowered to the ground, still open. They are evaluated on how they recover from being startled and if they'll go investigate. Ideal reaction is for the pup to startle but hold its ground, then move right up to check out the umbrella. A super excellent reaction is to go up and bite it and/or walk all over it. The tester encourages the pup to investigate after the umbrella is on the ground, if it doesn't on its own. She notes how much encouragement is needed.
Excellent 10
9. Submission, Forgiveness, Social Same as SAR tests.
Above Average Forgiveness: medium Social: 8
Tester Comments: Very nice, independent pup. For the most part, full bites & lots of interest. Puts full body into what she is doing. Very curious and friendly.
Jubilee (Quinta’s mother, grandmother to AA Litter)
Suzan also did Jubilee’s Temperament Test when she was seven weeks old. Here are those results.
Attachment: Excellent. Has no problem following another person.
Pain Sensitivity: Excellent. High pain tolerance – came back to handler.
Retrieve: Above Average. No retrieve.
Perseverance: Above Average. Chased everything, did not bring back.
Aggression/Courage: Above Average. Stood over train and sniffed.
Fear: Excellent. No reaction. Turned and looked into can.
Surprise: Excellent. Stopped, barked, looked at umbrella.
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