Temperament Testing - Page 1

For anyone living in Michigan, they will be doing TTing  in Muskegon on May 4th.  You can look on the ATTS website to check out the location etc.  I am thinking of taking Chaos up there to get his done.  Sounds interesting.

I get that test on all my mutts,

but it only comes around once every two years,

there is one coming to Westford Ma, which is down the 
road from where I am.

My girl Sam got hers & they said she was a VERY confident girl,

she got nicer scores than her mom!

I am going to bring Theo, Dana and Tessie, your dogs have to be 18 months or older.

My sister went one year with her chihuahua,

It's a fun time, just make sure your dog is not weary about a black umbrella,
Sam was afraid to go near the umbrella before we took the test, so I started
feeding her in the open umbrella, and when it was time to do the test, they said,
make her go closer to the umbrella, and I just moved closer to it, and she got up
and tried to sit in the lap of the lady holding the umbrella!
They were laughing at her.

Sam's just a big lap dog anyway!

www.atts.org

Have you gone through this test?  I might like to try it with my 10 month old pup.  Is there an age restriction?  Thanks!

They have to be 18 months old to test, we are having one in atlanta ga. soon.

Dog must be 18 mo. old.  In our advanced class, our instructor does a ton of stuff to the dogs to get them to react.  Chaos just sits there and looks at her.  Hopefully he will do ok for the test.

So how does a breeder tell you what kind of temperment an 8 week old puppy has?  You see it all the time this pup is suited for sport this pup is a family dog??  What gives?

Prompted by the link I had a look at the TT details from the web site & had to have a giggle at the terminolgy used in the Self Protective/Aggressive Behaviour section.

"A weirdly dressed stranger" & "A weird stranger" ...  hmm, descriptions both of which have been applied to me over the years

So does a guy come on with plus fours, different coloured socks & a ladies bonnet

AandA

While I am NOT an expert on this, I can share my one recent experience.  We participated in a TC, and the "wierd stranger" for that particular test was the helper from a schutznund club.  He wore a floppy hat and pretended to walk on a cane.  There were 3 levels of confrontation; each time the "weird stranger" came closer to the dog and handler.   During each of the three levels, the judge observed and notated the dog's reactions.   

1. First the "Weird stranger" hobbled by hunched over on a cane at a distance of about twenty-five yards.  He called out in a odd vouice, "hey- yay that's a nice dog ya got there."

2. Second, the "Weird Stranger snatched up a big tree branch and came closer to about fifteen yards in a somewhat threatening manner.

3. Third, the "Wierd Stranger' advanced on the dog and handler with very threatening gestures and shouted while waving the tree branch and his arms.  He stopped at a distance of about ten feet away.

There were different breeds of dogs at this test and it was interesting to note how they all reacted.   Some dogs were protective (guard dog breeds and herding breeds), some (all from the sporting group) stood their ground without barking but refused to let the man come nearer.  A few dogs hid behind their handlers. 

The umbrella did spook some dogs, as did walking on the tarp and the wire ex-pen grating on the ground.  There were 3 gun shots at the TC test.

Also, the judge atthis particular TC test made a point to tell the handlers that she felt it was better to wait for maturity (after 2 years of age) to really assess the dog's temperament and reactions to the tests. 

Hope these few observations help, and good luck to all at the TT and TC tests!

Cathy M.

Always remember to,

that the test is based on that particular breed of dog,

so say when the (Weird) stranger approaches, your poodle and he
hids behind you I think you'll still pass, but if your GSD hids behind
your legs, that don't cut it!

 Some of these so called temperament tests are a bunch of crap run by people who have only a novice understanding of canine behavior.