puupy aptitude test - Page 2

I did this sort of testing for many years, and tested many litters "scientifically," yet I agree the breeder's assessment is very important, as Shelley says.  (In her case, her assessment is particularly good, by the way.) But the video of the test is a very good tool or distant buyers who don't know the breeder well enough to know both her expertise and capacity to be objective.  Guiding eyes for the blind used these tests as part of the evaluation process for many years, and I was fortunate enough to learn from them.  The Volhard test cited above is the core of most tests of this type, but most people adapt that test for their purposes.

Pedigree, breeder's assessment, test.  If the three agree, you have something to count on.

The best thing, of course, is when all three say the same thing.  If the pedigree suggests something, the breeder says she sees what she was breeding for in that pup, and the tester, another person, says the same thing, great.  Whe working dogs have pups who show a lot of 2's and a breeder is describing a pup who is a handful -- you should expect a a lot of dog.  When good dogs of any kind have pups who show a lot of 3's plus the breeder is describing a sane puppy -- you should expect a reliable dog.  When the breeding is laid back (or probably regressed to the mean, because the parents are not titled) and the test shows a lot of 4's and the breeder says she's seeing a laid back or reserved puppy -- you are probably dealing with a dog with less interest or drive or courage. 

In working lines, a lot of 1's and a breeder who concurs probably means the dog is wild and crazy.  MAYBE it's high drive, and maybe it's just a terrier in a shepherd suit.  If it's top sport dogs being bred, you can think the former, but if it is a casual breeding, you may only have a crazy dog on your hands. (Why so many people like out of control, biting, shrieking, leap before you look stuff is beyond me.) 

The interesting problems are when the pedigree, breeder and test don't agree.  The easy one for me is when mediocre dogs are bred and the tests say the pups are all 4's or do nothing but the breeder is "seeing" greatness -- that is when I think "love is blind." The harder one is when good working dogs are bred and the breeder is seeing lots of drive and talent, but the tests are flat.  (There is no right answer here, folks -- you have to make a judgment call.)  In my case, I decide who I trust more, the breeder and pedigree or that moment in the pup's life -- we are all flat sometimes.  It has gone both ways in my experience.

The worst thing you can do with these tests, in my experience, is to kid yourself that: (1) weak parents can create the next bundessieger or (2) all 1's and 2's are necessarily a good thing.  If your puppy is so hyperactive he can't think straight, he can't convert his hyperdrive into safe highway travel.  Focus is needed, too.  It is so hard to measure, that few tests measure prolonged eye contact, but I think that is very important and you can always ask the breeder which puppies spend the most time gazing up at her.