TEST |
PURPOSE |
SCORE |
# |
SOCIAL ATTRACTION |
Degree of
social attraction to people, confidence, or dependence.
|
Came readily, tail up, jumped, bit at hands. |
1 |
Came readily, tail up, pawed, licked at
hands. |
2 |
||
Came readily, tail up. |
3 |
||
Came readily, tail down |
4 |
||
Came hesitantly, tail down. |
5 |
||
Didn't come at all. |
6 |
||
FOLLOWING The tester stands up and slowly walks away
encouraging the puppy to follow. Make sure the pup sees you walk away. Coax
puppy to follow by talking to it and attracting its attention. |
Willingness
to follow a person. Pack
Drive. |
Followed readily, tail up, got underfoot,
bit at feet. |
1 |
Followed readily, tail up, got underfoot. |
2 |
||
Followed readily, tail up |
3 |
||
Followed readily, tail down. |
4 |
||
Followed hesitantly, tail down. |
5 |
||
Did not follow or went away. |
6 |
||
RESTRAINT The tester crouches down and gently rolls the pup on
its back and holds it down with light pressure with one hand for 30 seconds. |
Degree of
dominance or submissive tendency, and ease of handling in difficult
situations. Fight or
Flight Drive. |
Struggled fiercely, flailed, bit. |
1 |
Struggled fiercely, flailed. |
2 |
||
Settled, struggled, settled with some eye
contact. |
3 |
||
Struggled then settled. |
4 |
||
No struggle, no eye contact. |
5 |
||
No struggle, straining to avoid eye contact. |
6 |
||
SOCIAL DOMINANCE Puppy sits or stands on crouching tester's left side
and tester gently strokes it from the head to back. Continue stroking until a
recognizable behavior is established. |
Degree of
acceptance of social dominance by a person. Pack
Drive. |
Jumped, pawed, bit, growled. |
1 |
Jumped, pawded. |
2 |
||
Cuddled up to tester and tried to lick face. |
3 |
||
Squirmed, licked at hands. |
4 |
||
Rolled over, licked at hands. |
5 |
||
Went away and stayed away. |
6 |
||
ELEVATION DOMINANCE The tester cradles the pup under its chest, with
both hands, fingers interlaced, palms up and gently lifts it two feet off the
ground, and holds it there for 30 seconds. |
Degree of
accepting dominance while in position of no control. Fight or
Flight Drive. |
Struggled fiercely, tried to bite. |
1 |
Struggled fiercely. |
2 |
||
Struggled, settled, struggled, settled. |
3 |
||
No struggle, relaxed. |
4 |
||
No struggle, body stiff. |
5 |
||
No struggle, froze. |
6 |
||
RETRIEVING The tester crouches beside the pup and attracts its
attention with a crumpled up piece of paper. When the pup shows some
interest, the tester tosses the paper no more than four feet in front of the
pup, encouraging it to retrieve the paper. |
Degree of
willingness to do something for you. Together with social attraction and
following, a key indicator for ease or difficulty in training. Prey
Drive. |
Chased object, picked it up and ran away. |
1 |
Chased object, stood over it, did not
return. |
2 |
||
Chased object, picked it up and returned
with it to tester. |
3 |
||
Chased object and returned without it to
tester. |
4 |
||
Started to chase object, lost interest. |
5 |
||
Did not chase object. |
6 |
||
TOUCH
SENSITIVITY The tester locates the webbing of one of the puppy's
front paws and presses it lightly between his index finger and thumb. The
tester gradually increases pressure while counting to 10 and stops the
pressure when the puppy pulls away or shows discomfort. * Do not use your fingernail when performing
this test. Press between the finger and thumb lightly then more firmly until
you get a response. |
Degree of
sensitivity to touch and a key indicator to the type of training equipment
required. |
8-10 counts before response. |
1 |
6-7 counts before response. |
2 |
||
5-6 counts before response. |
3 |
||
2-4 counts before response. |
4 |
||
2-3 counts before response. |
5 |
||
SOUND SENSITIVITY The puppy is placed in the center of the testing
area and an assistant stationed at the perimeter makes a sharp noise, such as
banging a metal spoon on the bottom of a metal pan. |
Degree of
sensitivity to sound. |
Listened, located sound, walked toward it
barking. |
1 |
Listened, located sound, barked. |
2 |
||
Listened, located sound, showed curiosity
and walked toward sound. |
3 |
||
Listened, located the sound. |
4 |
||
Cringed, backed off, hid. |
5 |
||
Ignored sound, showed no curiosity. |
6 |
||
SIGHT SENSITIVITY The puppy is placed in the center of the testing
area. The tester ties a string around a bath towel and jerks it across the
floor two feet away from puppy. |
Degree of
response to a moving object, such as chasing bicycles, children or squirrels.
|
Looked, attacked and bit. |
1 |
Looked, barked and tail up. |
2 |
||
Looked curiously, attempted to investigate. |
3 |
||
Looked, barked, tail-tuck. |
4 |
||
Ran away, hid. |
5 |
||
STABILITY An umbrella is opened about five feet from the puppy
and gently placed on the ground. |
Degree of
startle response to a strange object. Fight and
Flight Drive. |
Looked and ran to the umbrella, mouthing or
biting it. |
1 |
Looked and walked to the umbrella, smelling
it cautiously. |
2 |
||
Looked and went to investigate. |
3 |
||
Sat and looked, but did not move toward the
umbrella. |
4 |
||
Ran away from the umbrella. |
5 |
||
Showed no interest. |
6 |
3 in
Social Attraction and Social Dominance:
The socially attracted dog is more easily taught to come and is more cuddly and
friendly. Its interest in people can be a useful tool in training, despite
other scores.
1 in
Restraint and 1 in Touch Sensitivity:
The dominant aggressive dog, insensitive to touch, will be a handful to train
and extremely difficult for anyone other than an exceptionally competent
handler.
5 in
Stability:
This is likely to be a “spooky” dog which is never desirable. It requires a
great deal of extra work to get a spooky dog adapted to new situations and they
generally cannot be depended upon in a crisis.
5 in
Touch and Sound Sensitivity:
May also be very “spooky” and needs delicate handling to prevent the dog from
becoming frightened.