Benefits of Temperament Testing
A dog’s temperament is essentially the dog’s general attitude toward people and other animals and is a result of both inherited and environmental factors. This type of testing in dogs is most commonly conducted and used by breeders to determine the best matchup for a furrever family and even helps determine if a dog will be best suited as a therapy dog. At Downeast Designer Doodles we have found it extremely helpful to conduct a temperament test on each one of our puppies.
What the test is determining:
- Level of energy
- Level of aggression
- Prey Drive
- Protectiveness
- Loyalty
- Stability
- Shyness
- Confidence
- Friendliness
- The ability to distinguish between a threatening and non-threatening situation.
The test consists of auditory, visual and tactile stimuli. And while the tests determine important factors to help understand the puppy’s personality and future; we have found that it isn’t the most reliable with the outcome of your puppy’s behavior and determining the puppy’s response with unknown environments. This is simply a tool we use to determine special traits and extra support your puppy may require with training.
At DDD we wait until 7 weeks to conduct a full temperament test because there are some aptitudes and natural abilities that don’t always show up until this milestone week that highlight strengths and gifts; along with areas for growth. We know that conducting this test at 7 weeks doesn’t always make it convenient when deposits are put on puppies in which families are preferring certain colors, gender, etc. The only pressing need for results is when they will help to determine a puppy being used as therapy or service dog. And even though we conduct these tests; we have had a lot of puppies that have been trained as therapy or service dogs that we may or may not have recommended, but the dogs have still done a wonderful job! Because lets be honest…the breed itself is ideal anyway!
We like to share any temperament tests that we conduct on our pups with their new families. Doing this allows the family to know how to encourage their puppy to grow and become as well-adjusted as possible with their family, lifestyle and environment. With the results that we share; we never promise or guarantee anything along with them. Even when a test results in high favor for a therapy or service dog, it is not something we “guarantee” (just wanting to disclose). We encourage our adoptive families to conduct temperament testing later on in their dogs life for fun and to continue to learn their dog and ways to adapt.
Here is the temperament test that we use:
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