Border Collie Breeders | Border Collie Puppies | Taupo, Nz
WHAT IS Puppy Aptitude Testing?
IT'S CHOOSING THE RIGHT PUPPY FOR THE RIGHT HOME!
Some of the tests we use were developed as early as the 1930s for dogs bred to become guide dogs. In the 1950s, studies on puppies were conducted to determine their learning abilities, and these studies were also used to identify children’s learning stages!
We test the puppies at 49 days of age when the puppy is neurologically complete and has the brain of an adult dog. Any testing done after the 49th day may be affected by prior learning.
These tests are known as the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test, or PAT. PAT uses a scoring system from 1-6 and consists of ten tests. The tests are done consecutively and in the order listed. Each test is scored separately and interpreted on its own merits. The scores are not averaged, and there are no winners or losers.
The test are as follows:
- Social Attraction - degree of social attraction to people, confidence or dependence.
- Following - willingness to follow a person.
- Restraint - degree of dominant or submissive tendency, and ease of handling in difficult situations.
- Social Dominance - degree of acceptance of social dominance by a person.
- Elevation - degree of accepting dominance while in a position of no control, such as at the vets or groomer.
- Retrieving - degree of willingness to do something for you. Together with Social Attraction and Following a key indicator for ease or difficulty in training.
- Touch Sensitivity - degree of sensitivity to touch and a key indicator to the type of training equipment required.
- Sound Sensitivity - degree of sensitivity to sound, such as loud noises or thunderstorms
- Sight Sensitivity - degree of response to a moving object, such as chasing bikes, children or rabbits etc.
- Stability - degree of startle response to a strange object.
During the testing, we take note of the heart rate of the puppies. Panting is also a good indicator that a dog is stressed.
We take our puppies through each of the 10 items, record the process, create a scorecard for each puppy to better understand what we observe, and send them to each family on our waitlist for the specific litter we tested. This empowers our puppy families to understand their new puppy and start training and socializing it effectively once it goes home.
It is amazing to be able to give our puppies a voice through temperament testing and provide our puppy families with the ability to choose a puppy that has a temperament suitable for their lifestyle. This also ensures that the puppy is fulfilled by its person's lifestyle. The entire purpose is to select the right puppy for the right home, and we believe that this is the best way to do it.