RANGEL FAMILY GOLDENS - Temperament Testing

Temperament Testing Reality

How I feel about personality testing a young puppy....

This has been a long time coming! I usually get frustrated when people want to be super serious about personality / temperament testing a young puppy. I have been doing this long enough to know that puppies do change! The first few years is so critical to what they become, but the first two months is not set in stone. That is why we now recommend all new owners to sign up for training classes. Owners over the long term will be happier with their dog if they have done training. And, let's face it, well-behaved dogs don't sit in shelters long.

Puppies don't see well until about 4 to 5 weeks old. Hearing comes in around the same time. They don't even potty without stimulation help until about 3 weeks old. So, if a puppy leaves a breeder around 7 to 10 weeks old, how long have they actually been a fully aware being? 3 weeks? So, to judge a puppy personality at 2 months old seems a bit crazy, right?

I'm a quiet person. My dogs in my household are quiet (except for when the door bell rings, the postal person or UPS driver makes a noise on the porch, or strangers visit. You go over to a house, where there are kids swinging from the ceiling light, and neighbor kids around (stray kids?), and the energy is high... dogs too! Dogs become what you are; they become what your household is. I have been saying this for years. Yes, some personality component is genetic - I read some scientific studies that say about 35%. For example, a working herding dog will herd! But, 65% is a lot to work with, folks, and appropriate training will make that herding dog NOT bite your kids' heels.

Every single day, every single moment, is an influence on your puppy and what he or she will develop to be. Have a shy puppy? Take the puppy with some steak treats in your pocket, to the pet store, and reward for every experience, and that includes walking in the front automatic doors. Puppy elevator scared? Get the treats ready, always on hand. Puppy growl at your kids? Be real with yourself... the kids scared or hurt the puppy. They are bigger than your puppy. The world to their eyes is intimidating - you would be intimidated if you were that small and young too. Give good experiences, backed with high reward treats (not boring milk bones), and your pup will grow to be confident. Have a high energy puppy? Tell your kids, “Calm kids equals calm puppy", and plan on every day exercising your puppy and managing their time so they are not sleeping after dinnertime and keeping you up at night. There is no magic. It is all common sense. Dogs want to be with us, we are lucky for that - our job is to learn how to appropriately communicate with them (learn dog language - I highly recommend reading books and watching videos before getting a pup).

Another great example I have is that it is common sense. Have a little kid that is scared? Do you square up on him and say in a loud voice, "what is the matter with you?". No. You'd just scare him even more. So, why do this to a scared puppy? Do you stare a scared kid in the eyes? No. You let the kid drop his eyes. Staring into your eyes is aggressive and intimidating. You should calmly sit down, don't make eye contact, and don't GRAB for the kid / dog. You can "face" them using your side, not square on or towering over (get on their level), and if they come up to you, you can pet their chest because petting on their head is the dominant thing to do. Anything dominant is intimidating.

Your dog jumps up? Stop petting him while he is jumping up. He is rewarded every time someone pets him when he has jumped up since a puppy. Cross your arms, look away, and do not talk or pay attention to a jumping dog. It is cute as a puppy, but when they are big or have muddy paws, not so cute.

NEW STUDY OUT:

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190222125218.htm

Good dog? Bad dog? Their personalities can change - Like humans, dogs' personalities likely change over time

February 22, 2019

Source: Michigan State University

Summary: When dog-parents spend extra time scratching their dogs' bellies, take their dogs out for long walks and games of fetch, or even when they feel constant frustration over their dogs' naughty chewing habits, they are gradually shaping their dogs' personalities.

When dog-parents spend extra time scratching their dogs' bellies, take their dogs out for long walks and games of fetch, or even when they feel constant frustration over their dogs' naughty chewing habits, they are gradually shaping their dogs' personalities. Dogs, like people, have moods and personality traits that shape how they react in certain situations. New findings from Michigan State University went where few researchers have gone before to reveal that, also like humans, dogs' personalities are likely to change over time.

"When humans go through big changes in life, their personality traits can change. We found that this also happens with dogs -- and to a surprisingly large degree," said William Chopik, professor of psychology and lead author. "We expected the dogs' personalities to be fairly stable because they don't have wild lifestyle changes humans do, but they actually change a lot. We uncovered similarities to their owners, the optimal time for training and even a time in their lives that they can get more aggressive toward other animals."

Additionally, Chopik found that dogs' personalities can predict many important life outcomes. For example, canines' personalities will influence how close they feel to their owners, biting behavior and even chronic illness.

The research, published in Journal of Research in Personality, is one of the first -- and is the largest -- studies of its kind to examine changes in dogs' personalities. Chopik surveyed owners of more than 1,600 dogs, including 50 different breeds. Dogs ranged from just a few weeks old to 15 years, and were split closely between male and female. The extensive survey had owners evaluate their dog's personalities and answer questions about the dog's behavioral history. The owners also completed a survey about their own personalities.

"We found correlations in three main areas: age and personality, in human-to-dog personality similarities and in the influence a dog's personality has on the quality of its relationship with its owner," Chopik said. "Older dogs are much harder to train; we found that the 'sweet spot' for teaching a dog obedience is around the age of six, when it outgrows its excitable puppy stage but before it’s too set in its ways."

One trait that rarely changes in age with dogs, Chopik said, was fear and anxiety.

Honing in on the saying, "dogs resemble their owners," Chopik's research showed dogs and owners share specific personality traits. Extroverted humans rated their dogs as more excitable and active, while owners high in negative emotions rated their dogs as more fearful, active, and less responsive to training. Owners who rated themselves as agreeable rated their dogs as less fearful and less aggressive to people and animals.

The owners who felt happiest about their relationships with their dogs reported active and excitable dogs, as well as dogs who were most responsive to training. Aggression and anxiety didn't matter as much in having a happy relationship, Chopik said.

"There are a lot of things we can do with dogs -- like obedience classes and training -- that we can't do with people," he said. "Exposure to obedience classes was associated with more positive personality traits across the dog's lifespan. This gives us exciting opportunities to examine why personality changes in all sorts of animals."

Chopik's findings prove how much power humans have over influencing a dog's personality. He explained that many of the reasons a dog's personality changes are a result of the "nature versus nurture" theory associated with humans' personalities.

Next, Chopik's research will examine how the environment owners provide for their dogs might change the dogs' behavior.

"Say you adopt a dog from a shelter. Some traits are likely tied to biology and resistant to change, but you then put it in a new environment where it's loved, walked, and entertained often. The dog then might become a little more relaxed and sociable," Chopik said. "Now that we know dogs' personalities can change, next we want to make strong connection to understand why dogs act -- and change -- the way they do."

Story Source:

Materials provided by Michigan State University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

1. William J. Chopik, Jonathan R. Weaver. Old dog, new tricks: Age differences in dog personality traits, associations with human personality traits, and links to important outcomes. Journal of Research in Personality, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2019.01.005

Is Temperament Testing Really Worth the Effort?

Updated: Jun 6, 2020

This is another post that’s probably going to upset a few people. It’s about the predictiveness of puppy temperament testing.

Temperament testing has been an important fixture in determining suitability of dogs for service work, therapy work, police, and military service, and even for companion dogs.

I started temperament testing in the beginning in the belief that it was the only responsible way to place a puppy. All the other good breeders did it, my mentors did it (including those involved with major service dog organizations and the US Department of Defense puppy raising program), so I did it.

But like many things involved in breeding, it’s not necessarily a sound practice simply because everyone is doing it. We also need to look at the science.

Back then, we didn’t have much, if any, science, we just had the best efforts of the best in the business. Now we have some studies to look at, so let’s take a look at what they say.

Do puppy temperament tests predict adult behavior?

Service Dog organizations have a great deal invested in the performance of adult dogs, have regimented puppy rearing programs, and are able to collect data and do follow up, so much of the results and studies we have are from service dog organizations.

There are more than a few studies available. Here are some highlights, and you can pour through the references if you really want to get lost in the weeds.

In 1997, a study was performed on 630 eight-week-old German Shepherd puppies born into a service dog program with a follow-up evaluation at 14-19 months. The ability of the testers to predict adult behavior from puppy temperament tests was “negligible and the puppy test was therefore not found useful in predicting adult suitability for service dog work.”[1]

In fact, the correlation of behavior from puppyhood to adulthood was “exactly what would be expected by pure chance.”

The authors conclude “… adult behavior cannot be predicted as early as at eight weeks of age. Breeding programs aimed to improve behavior in dogs may not be based on information collected on tests performed as early as at eight weeks of age.” This study also found that maternal effects are present in puppies, but that effect wanes once the puppies reach full adulthood.

In 2013, a study of 465 puppies in a guide dog program found low predictability between puppy temperament and certification as guide dogs as adults.

The most predictive characteristic in the test was not success, but failure.[2]

A study in 2014 evaluated 134 Border Collie puppies at days 2-10, days 40-50, and then again at 1.5-2 years.

There was little correlation between puppy evaluation results and behavior at 1.5-2 years. Only exploratory behavior was found to be correlated into adulthood.

The study concluded “the predictive validity of early tests for predicting specific behavioral traits in adult pet dogs is limited.” [3]

The interesting thing about this study is that fear in puppies was NOT correlated with fear in adulthood. In fact, the inverse was shown and some of the most fearful puppies ended up being the most friendly adults.

Fearfulness is somewhat predictive at 3 months of age, but prediction accuracy improved with age.[4]

The same researchers conducted another study two years later and concluded that none of the tests they performed were predictive of ability to learn specific tasks.[5]

Another guide dog program study concluded that “when applied at 7 weeks of age without an additional criterion, the test has no predictive value regarding future social tendencies.” [6]

In a study of specific AKC breeds, tests were interestingly predictive of breed, the were not, however, predictive of adult temperament. “The puppy temperament scores were unreliable in predicting adult temperament.” [7]

§ A few characteristics, such as playfulness,[8] have some correlation.

A couple of studies had results that conflicted with those I list above.

This is normal in science, and the responsible way to handle these conflicts is to look at the studies individually for quality and to look at the evidence as a whole.

In other words, you need to ask yourself if there is more evidence supporting a particular conclusion. The truth is found in a preponderance of information, not in a specific single study.

Something else to consider is that a closer look at these few outlying studies show they tend to have smaller sample sizes and the studies with larger sample sizes (which are more reliable as a whole).

There was some correlation in this study between puppy testing for aggression and submissiveness, but lower correlation for responsiveness to training, fearfulness, and sociability. “Overall, we found evidence to suggest substantial consistency (r = 0.43).

Furthermore, personality consistency was higher in older dogs, when behavioral assessment intervals were shorter, and when the measurement tool was the same in both assessments.

In puppies, aggression and submissiveness were the most consistent dimensions, while responsiveness to training, fearfulness, and sociability were the least consistent dimensions.” [9]

In a study from a South African police dog program, retrieval was highly correlated from puppyhood to adulthood, with other traits not correlating from puppy hood to adulthood, but with correlation from juveniles to adulthood.[10]

A study of 206 German Shepherd dogs in a police dog program showed correlation between certain behaviors at 7 weeks (catch, chase, fetch, and follow a dragged rag) and certification as adults.[11]

§ These criteria, however, are more evident of specific drives those dogs possess and not necessarily of personality or temperament traits.

If testing of temperament in puppyhood is not predictive, when is temperament evaluation reliable?

A 2012 study of guide dog candidates using C-BARQ [14] criteria (a standardize behavioral assessment) of a whopping 8,000 dogs determined that while the test was not predictive of success, it did allow them to rule out dogs likely to fail when those dogs were tested at 6 and 12 months.

So while evaluation at those ages were still not predictive of success, they were predictive of failure.[12] This is consistent with what we have seen in other studies discussed above.

So, if temperament testing isn’t predictive, what is?

In a recent study,[13] there were things we as breeders can do and can educate/encourage in our puppy homes to stack the decks in favor of better outcomes for our puppies. (This study used C-BARQ evaluation)

§ Experience or ability of families raising the puppy (aggression toward humans and dogs, fear, and touch sensitivity)

§ Another dog in the household (lowered aggression toward household members)

§ Avoidance of traumatic events (fear and aggression)

So, we need to work with our puppies and help our families better socialize, handle, and train when they get their puppies home.

My Personal Choice

I’ve been reading research on this for a couple of years. I’ve talked about it a little in some online discussions, but I’ve been hesitant to make any bold public statements. But here it is now.

Two years ago, I took the plunge and followed the science.

I stopped temperament testing.

Completely.

And the sky hasn’t fallen.

People are happy with their companion dogs and just as successful with their service dog candidates or therapy dog candidates.

Granted, this is anecdotal. My program is a small sample size, I don't have a robust (or even close) data collection method, and I make no claim of my experience being a scientific representation.

Now if you temperament test and are happy with it, that’s great. I know from experience that some customers like it, it makes them feel better.

But if we are honest with ourselves about what science is saying, for the most part temperament testing doesn’t really mean a whole lot, if anything.

And I decided that instead of taking all of the time and energy to evaluate puppies, write it all up, and communicate all of that to families, I would rather take that time and energy and put it back into working with the puppies.

In the end, without a high degree of predictability, I determined temperament testing to be a waste of time. I would have the puppies Temperament Tested, video, edit and upload videos, write up the evaluations, and then discuss with families.

That's a good 2-3 days of work I could have used for working on things I knew the puppies needed because I was already spending all day with them.

I didn't need 3 days of work, plus paying an evaluator fee, to know if any of my puppies had noise sensitivity or liked to retrieve or were high energy, etc. So, I was already clear on what my puppies needed help with and I found it more productive and better for the puppies for me to use the time formerly spent temperament testing actually helping the puppies instead.

It’s paying off for me and I hope you find what works best for you.

If you find it helpful for your program, that's great. I just wanted to review what studies are showing so that you can decide for yourself with open eyes.

Relying on tools like temperament testing is important. However, we need to be realistic about what the tools can and can't do, and we want to make sure that what we are doing is effective.

Update 6 June 2020: Can Temperament Testing Actually Harm Puppies

This update is inspired by an insightful comment from Susanne Shelton (BOM CPDT KA) in an online discussion of this post.

Susanne points out the potential problems of labeling puppies as well as unskilled evaluators actually traumatizing puppies during the course of the temperament test. This is known as the "expectancy effect" and fairly well studied in a variety of species and covered in this post. While labels can sometimes help, they have more of a tendency to lower expectations and inadvertently influence interactions with that individual.

With little exception, anyone can be a temperament evaluator. There are no standards or oversight.

She also points out the benefit of GOOD evaluation potentially being helpful for breeders who struggle with understanding puppy behavior and can help identify behaviors that need work prior to placement.

References and Footnotes

[1] Wilsson E, PE Sundgren. “Behavior test for eight-week-old puppies—heritability’s of tested behavior traits and its correspondence to later behavior.” Applied Animal Behavior Science 58 1998 151–162 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159197000932

[2] Asher L, Blythe S, Roberts R, Toothill L, Craigon PJ, et al. (2013) A standardized behavior test for potential guide dog puppies: Methods and association with subsequent success in guide dog training. J Vet Behav Clin Appl Res 8: 431–438. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787813001925

[3] Riemer S, Müller C, Virányi Z, Huber L, Range F. The predictive value of early behavioral assessments in pet dogs--a longitudinal study from neonates to adults. PLoS One. 2014;9(7):e101237. Published 2014 Jul 8. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0101237 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4086890/

[4] Goddard ME, Beilharz RG (1984) A factor analysis of fearfulness in potential guide dogs. Appl Anim Behav Sci 12: 253–265. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0168159184901187

[5] Goddard ME, Beilharz RG (1986) Early prediction of adult behaviour in potential guide dogs. Appl Anim Behav Sci 15: 247–260. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/016815918690095X

[6] Beaudet R, Chalifoux A, Dallaire A (1994) Predictive value of activity level and behavioral evaluation on future dominance in puppies. Appl Anim Behav Sci 40: 273–284. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/016815919490068X

[7] Robinson, LM, RS Thompson, JC Ha. Puppy Temperament Assessments Predict Breed and American Kennel Club Group but Not Adult Temperament. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science. 19:2, 2016.

[8] Scott JP, Beilfelt SW (1976) Analysis of the puppy testing program. In: Pfaffenberger, C.J., Scott, J.P., Fuller, J.L., Ginsburg, B.E., Bielfelt SW, editor. Guide Dogs for the Blind: Their Selection, Development and Training. pp. 39–75

[9] Fratkin JL, Sinn DL, Patall EA, Gosling SD. Personality consistency in dogs: a meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2013; 8(1):e54907. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0054907

[10] Slabbert JM, Odendaal JSJ (1999) Early prediction of adult police dog efficiency - a longitudinal study. Appl Anim Behav Sci 64: 269–288. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159199000386

[11] Svobodova I, Vapenik P, Pinc L, Bartos L (2008) Testing German shepherd puppies to assess their chances of certification. Appl Anim Behav Sci 113: 139–149. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159107003000

[12] Duffy DL & JA Serpell 2012 Predictive validity of a method for evaluating temperament in young guide and service dogs. App. Anim. Behav. Sci. 138: 99-109. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0168159112000433

[13] Serpell JA, Duffy DL. Aspects of Juvenile and Adolescent Environment Predict Aggression and Fear in 12-Month-Old Guide Dogs. Front Vet Sci. 2016;3:49. Published 2016 Jun 22. doi:10.3389/fvets.2016.00049 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4916180/

[14] In 2003, the University of Pennsylvania developed a behavioral test called C-BARQ, which measures aggression, fearfulness, and a few other behavioral problems in dogs. C-BARQ has become a standard for certain behavioral studies and U Penn has a database with over 50,000 test results. The use of C-BARQ makes it easier to compare results among studies that use it, however, it is limited in its scope and doesn’t cover a number of qualities a breeder may want to be able to evaluate in puppies or adults. http://vetapps.vet.upenn.edu/cbarq/