Goodwood Dachshunds Standard Smooth Puppies Temperament Testing 2009

I had the pups tested on August 24th by Susan Fletcher who is a superb dog trainer. She said that she was incredibly impressed by these puppies. They were all even tempered and will make wonderful companions. Good news!!!

1. Social attraction - the owner or caretaker of the puppies places it in the test area about four feet from the tester and then leaves the test area. The tester kneels down and coaxes the puppy to come to him or her by encouragingly and gently clapping hands and calling. The tester must coax the puppy in the opposite direction from where it entered the test area. Hint: Lean backward, sitting on your heels instead of leaning forward toward the puppy. Keep your hands close to your body encouraging the puppy to come to you instead of trying to reach for the puppy.

2. Following - the tester stands up and slowly walks away encouraging the puppy to follow. Hint: Make sure the puppy sees you walk away and get the puppy to focus on you by lightly clapping your hands and using verbal encouragement to get the puppy to follow you. Do not lean over the puppy.

3. Restraint - the tester crouches down and gently rolls the puppy on its side and holds it on its side for 30 seconds. Hint: Hold the puppy down without applying too much pressure. The object is not to keep it on its side but to test its response to being placed in that position.

4. Social Dominance - let the puppy stand up or sit and gently stroke it from the head to the back while you crouch beside it. See if it will lick your face, an indication of a forgiving nature. Continue stroking until you see a behavior you can score. Hint: When you crouch next to the puppy avoid leaning or hovering over the puppy. Have the puppy at your side with both of you facing in the same direction.

Top Dog Tips: During testing maintain a positive, upbeat and friendly attitude toward the puppies. Try to get each puppy to interact with you to bring out the best in him or her. Make the test a pleasant experience for the puppy.

5. Elevation Dominance - the tester cradles the puppy with both hands, supporting the puppy under its chest and gently lifts it two feet off the ground and holds it there for 30 seconds.

6. Retrieving - the tester crouches beside the puppy and attracts its attention with a crumpled up piece of paper. When the puppy shows some interest, the tester throws the paper no more than four feet in front of the puppy encouraging it to retrieve the paper.

7. Touch Sensitivity - the tester locates the webbing of one the puppy’s front paws and presses it lightly between his index finger and thumb. The tester gradually increases pressure while counting to ten and stops when the puppy pulls away or shows signs of discomfort.

8. Sound Sensitivity - the puppy is placed in the center of the testing area and an assistant stationed at the perimeter makes a sharp noise, such as banging a metal spoon on the bottom of a metal pan.

9. Sight Sensitivity - the puppy is placed in the center of the testing area. The tester ties a string around a bath towel and jerks it across the floor, two feet away from the puppy.

10. Stability - an umbrella is opened about five feet from the puppy and gently placed on the ground.

Test	Response	Score
SOCIAL ATTRACTION	Came readily, tail up, jumped, bit at hands	1
	Came readily, tail up, pawed, licked at hands	2
	Came readily, tail up	3
	Came readily, tail down	4
	Came hesitantly, tail down	5
	Didn’t come at all	6

FOLLOWING	Followed readily, tail up, got underfoot, bit at feet	1
	Followed readily, tail up, got underfoot	2
	Followed readily, tail up	3
	Followed readily, tail down	4
	Followed hesitantly, tail down	5
	Did not follow or went away	6

RESTRAINT	Struggled fiercely, flailed, bit	1
	Struggled fiercely, flailed	2
	Settled, struggled, settled with some eye contact	3
	Struggled, then settled	4
	No struggle	5
	No struggle, strained to avoid eye contact	6

SOCIAL DOMINANCE	Jumped, pawed, bit, growled	1
	Jumped, pawed	2
	Cuddled up to tester and tried to lick face	3
	Squirmed, licked at hands	4
	Rolled over, licked at hands	5
	Went away and stayed away	6

ELEVATION DOMINANCE	Struggled fiercely, tried to bite	1
	Struggled fiercely	2
	Struggled, settled, struggled, settled	3
	No struggle, relaxed	4
	No struggle, body stiff	5
	No struggle, froze	6

RETRIEVING	Chased object, picked it up and ran away	1
	Chased object, stood over it and did not return	2
	Chased object, picked it up and returned with it to tester	3
	Chased object and returned without it to tester	4
	Started to chase object, lost interest	5
	Does not chase object	6

TOUCH SENSITIVITY	8-10 count before response	1
	6-8 count before response	2
	5-6 count before response	3
	3-5 count before response	4
	2-3 count before response	5
	1-2 count before response	6

SOUND SENSITIVITY	Listened, located sound and ran toward it barking	1
	Listened, located sound and walked slowly toward it	2
	Listened, located sound and showed curiosity	3
	Listened and located sound	4
	Cringed, backed off and hid behind tester	5
	Ignored sound and showed no curiosity	6

SIGHT SENSITIVITY	Looked, attacked and bit object	1
	Looked and put feet on object and put mouth on it	2
	Looked with curiosity and attempted to investigate, tail up	3
	Looked with curiosity, tail down	4
	Ran away or hid behind tester	5
	Hid behind tester	6

STABILITY	Looked and ran to the umbrella, mouthing or biting it	1
	Looked and walked to the umbrella, smelling it cautiously	2
	Looked and went to investigate	3
	Sat and looked, but did not move toward the umbrella	4
	Showed little or no interest	5
	Ran away from the umbrella	6

INTERPRETATION OF SCORES Mostly 1's:
This dog is extremely dominant and has aggressive tendencies. It is quick to bite and is generally considered not good with children or the elderly. When combined with a 1 or 2 in touch sensitivity, will be a difficult dog to train. Not a dog for the in experienced handler; takes a competent trainer to establish leadership.

Mostly 2's:
This dog is dominant and can be provoked to bite. Responds well to firm, consistent, fair handling in an adult household, and is likely to be a loyal pet once it respects its human leader. Often has bouncy, outgoing temperament: may be too active for elderly, and too dominant for small children.

Mostly 3's:
This dog accepts human leaders easily. Is best prospect for the average owner, adapts well to new situations and generally good with children and elderly, although it may be inclined to be active. Makes a good obedience prospect and usually has a common sense approach to life.

Mostly 4's:
This dog is submissive and will adapt to most households. May be slightly less outgoing and active than a dog scoring mostly 3's. Gets along well with children in general and trains well.

Mostly 5's:
This dog is extremely submissive and needs special handling to build confidence and bring him out of his shell. Does not adapt well to change and confusion and needs a very regular, structured environment. Usually safe around children and bites only when severely stressed. Not a good choice for a beginner since it frightens easily, and takes a long time to get used to new experiences.

Mostly 6's:
This dog is independent. He is not affectionate and may dislike petting and cuddling. It is difficult to establish a relationship with him for working or as a pet. Not recommended for children who may force attention on him; he is not a beginner's dog.

a) When combined with 1's (especially in restraint); the independent dog is likely to bite under stress.

b) When combined with 5's the independent dog is likely to hide from people, or freeze when approached by a stranger.

No clear patterns (several 1's, 2's and 5's):
This dog may not be feeling well. Perhaps just ate or was recently wormed. Wait two days and re-test. If the test still shows wide variations (lots of 1's and 5's), it is probably unpredictable and unlikely to be a good pet or obedience dog.

SCORING TIPS 3 in Social Attraction and Social Dominance:
The socially attracted dog is more easily taught to come and is more cuddly and friendly. Its interest in people can be a useful tool in training, despite other scores.

1 in Restraint and 1 in Touch Sensitivity:
The dominant aggressive dog, insensitive to touch, will be a handful to train and extremely difficult for anyone other than an exceptionally competent handler.

5 in Stability:
This is likely to be a “spooky” dog which is never desirable. It requires a great deal of extra work to get a spooky dog adapted to new situations and they generally cannot be depended upon in a crisis.

5 in Touch and Sound Sensitivity:
May also be very “spooky” and needs delicate handling to prevent the dog from becoming frightened.

Susan reports that all the puppies LOVED the umbrella portion of the test! They were fascinated by it and couldn't get enough of it!

She also said that everyone jumped on the towel and surfed on it as the towel was being dragged by the string. No fear!

She said that aside from Red, who she thought just was off that day and should be retested, all the puppies were just fine and would be reliable, friendly dogs in their adulthood.

Red was retested on Sept 3rd and was much more relaxed! She is still a bit stubborn, but that means independent thinking which is a good hunting trait!

Puppy	Social Attraction	Following	Restraint	Social Dominance	Elevation	Retrieving	Touch Sensitivity	Sound Sensitivity	Sight Sensitivity	Stablilty	Comments
Boy	3	3	4	6	4	3	3	4	2	2	Sweet, cheerful and playful. Waggy tail!
Green	6	5	5	3	3	6	no data	4	2	2	Worried at first but warmed up a lot, very forgiving, sweet.
Pink	4	3	4	5	3	5	1	6	2	3	Waggy and kissy!
Yellow	4	3	4	3	2	5	1	4	2	3	Softy, sweet and playful
Spot	3	3	2	3	3	5	1	4	2	3	Sat by my feet alot, cute and sweet
Red (retest)	4	3	2	4	2	6	1	4	3	2	Waggy, sweet and sniffy!
White	3	3	4	3	3	5	3	4	2	3	Perfect, sweet, happy
Black	3	3	4	3	2	4	1	4	2	2	Cheerful, sweet
Brown	6	3	4	3	3	5	2	4	2	3	Nice baby, came to be petted, waggy, sweet
Orange	5	3	5	3	2	6	1	no data	2	3	Busy sniffing!
`Beige	3	3	4	3	2	5	3	3	3	3	Perfect puppy!