Puppy Testing - Page 1

My puppies will be 3 weeks old this Sunday.  I have prospective homes for SAR, handicap assistance, schutzhund and companion/alert.  I have my own particular "testing" and evaluation that I do with my puppies as they grow, but I am always learning.  I would love to hear/see about what testing others do with their puppies to make sure the right puppy gets placed in the appropriate home.  Perhaps I will be able to incorporate some new ideas into what I have done in the past.

To get the conversation going, what do u do to test them.

I have very informal testing.  To begin with, I do a lot of watching the litter interact with one another.  Each week, from about 5 weeks on, I take the puppies individually into a new location and watch their reactions to new sights/sounds.  I give them new obstacles and see how they manage them.  I will hide food in the new location when they get to around 7 weeks and see what puppies will smell the food and try to locate it.  I'll drag a sack on the ground and see what they do, then watch what they do if/when they get ahold of it.  I evaluate whether each puppy likes to follow me around or chooses to play with the other puppies.  I will get them focused on a small toy and toss it a short distance away and see how they respond. 

I know there's more, but I do most of it as second nature and don't really think about it.  I'm always watching them and evaluating them.  It's always amazing to me how they change from 3 weeks to 8 weeks.  Sometimes the most shy puppy will become very outgoing, or a puppy that seems stubborn will end up being very biddable. 

http://leerburg.com/puppytest1.htm

http://leerburg.com/kevin2.htm

There might also be other ideas at this site.

yes you do the right thing, but for me it is very important that I do the test at 7 weeks with a stranger, not with the breeder who feeds those pups every time etc. it has to be done with a stranger on a place the pup is not familiar with and each puppy alone, away from their litter mates! Then you see the the "real picture!"
We do different dominance tests, noise test,courage/ nerve tests etc. and of course see how much drive they have, and how outgoing they are with that new person. we also do pain tolerance and see how forgiving the pups are after...there are many things what are important for me, then I know exactly where I place each individual pup!

I have read on campbells test, as a temperament test to figure out which dogs will be more suitable to families with children, and which dogs will require a more experienced owner, but I don't believe the test is any good to figure out which tasks the puppy will be more apt at. Not sure how much you can actually see at 8 weeks, I've always been curious as to how accurate one can predict how the dog will turn out at this stage.

Gusmanda, I agree with you at some points and yes you see alot with 8 weeks how dominant or how much drive the pup shows etc. but again 50% is genetic and 50% is enviromental, the owner "makes the dog". all I want as a breeder is good confident, outgoing pups who show the drive and the nerves, then for sure they can do anything!

Christina I agree with you, That is why you have such a successfull breeding program.
hank

thanks Hank!

Thank you for those that took the time to give some input to this topic. 

I don't know how accurate all of the percentages are, but I've always heard that 35% of a dog's temperament is genetic and the other 65% is environment.  A pup can be completely ruined by a bad breeder before they even go to a new owner.  Of course, the owner can make or break the dog after that point as well.