TEMPERAMENT TESTING

Temperament testing is completed on each puppy before the pick-out date. We will use the results to help us match the best puppy to your family. We use the Vohlhard Puppy Aptitude Test. An evaluator comes in and tests the litter one puppy at a time around 7 weeks of age. The temperament test categories are as follows:  

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• Social Attraction – degree of social attraction to people, confidence or dependence.  

• Following – willingness to follow a person.  

• Restraint – degree of dominant or submissive tendency, and ease of handling in difficult situations.

• Social Dominance – degree of acceptance of social dominance by a person.

• Elevation – degree of accepting dominance while in a position of no control, such as at the veterinarian or groomer.

• Retrieving – degree of willingness to do something for you. Together with Social Attraction and Following a key indicator for ease or difficulty in training.

• Touch Sensitivity – degree of sensitivity to touch and a key indicator to the type of training equipment required.

• Sound Sensitivity – degree of sensitivity to sound, such as loud noises or thunderstorms.

• Sight Sensitivity – degree of response to a moving object, such as chasing bicycles, children or squirrels.

• Stability – degree of startle response to a strange object.

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Hunt instinct testing is also performed before the pick-out date. Live quail are brought in to test each puppy's "birdiness" around 7 weeks of age. We track their response to first seeing a bird, eagerness to follow, and how long they stick with it.

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