VOLHARD PUPPY APTITUDE TEST

SOCIAL ATTRACTION

Place puppy in test area.
From a few feet away the tester coaxes the pup to her/him by clapping hands gently and kneeling down and leaning backwards.

Degree of social attraction.

Pack Drive.

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

Stand up and walk slowly away from the pup with your back to it.
Make sure the pup sees you walk away.
Coax puppy to follow by talking to it and attracting it's attention.

Degree of following attraction.

Pack Drive

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

No follow or went away.

6

RESTRAINT

Crouch down and gently roll the pup on his back and hold it down with light pressure with one hand for a full 30 seconds.

Degree of dominance or submission.

Flight or flight drive.

How it accepts stress when socially or physically dominated.

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, straining to avoid eye contact.

6

SOCIAL DOMINANCE

Sit puppy on left side and gently stroke him from the head to back while you crouch beside him talking to him.
Continue stroking until cognizable behavior is established - no more than 30 seconds.

Degree of acceptance of social dominance.

Pack drive.

Jumped, pawed, bit, growled.

1

Jumped, pawed.

2

Cuddles up to testor and tries to lick face.

3

Squirmed, licked at hands.

4

Rolled over, licked at hands.

5

Went away and stayed away.

6

ELEVATION DOMINANCE

Bend over and cradle the pup under its belly, fingers interlaced, palms up and elevate it just off the ground.
Hold it there for 30 seconds.

Degree of accepting dominance while in position of no control.

Flight or flight drive.

Struggled fiercely, bit, growled.

1

Struggled fiercely.

2

No struggle, relaxed.

3

Struggled, settled, licked.

4

No struggle, licked at hands.

5

No struggle, froze.

6

RETRIEVING

Crouch beside pup and attract its attention with crumpled up paper ball. When the pup shows interest and is watching, toss the object 4-5 feet in front of pup.

Degree of willingness to work with a human.

High correlation between ability to retrieve and successful guide dogs, obedience dogs, field trial dogs.

Prey drive.

Chases object, picks up object and runs away.

1

Chases object, stands over object, does not return.

2

Chases object and returns with object to testor.

3

Chases object and returns without object to testor.

4

Starts to chase object, loses interest.

5

Does not chase object.

6

TOUCH SENSITIVITY

With puppy on left side, take his front foot with your right hand and press your finger* and thumb lightly then more firmly between his toes on his webbing until you get a response. Count slowly to 10.

Stop as soon as puppy pulls away, or shows discomfort.

*Do not use your fingernail when performing this test.

Degree of sensitivity to touch.

8-10 counts before response.

1

6-7 counts before response.

2

5-6 counts before response.

3

2-4 counts before response.

4

1-2 counts before response.

5

SOUND SENSITIVITY

Place pup in center of area, assistant makes a sharp noise a few feet from the puppy.

A large metal spoon struck sharply on a metal pan twice works well.

Do not repeat.

Degree of sensitivity to sound. (Also can be a rudimentary test for deafness.)

Prey drive.

Listens, locates sound, walks towards it barking.

1

Listens, locates sound, barks.

2

Listens, locates sound, shows curiosity and walks toward sound.

3

Listens, locates the sound.

4

Cringes, backs off, hides.

5

Ignores sound, shows no curiosity.

6

SIGHT SENSITIVITY

Place pup in center of room.

Tie a string around a large towel and jerk it across the floor a few feet away from puppy.
 

Degree of intelligent response to strange object.

Looks, attacks and bites.

1

Looks, barks and tail up.

2

looks curiously, attempts to investigate.

3

Looks, barks, tail duck.

4

Runs away, hides.

5

STRUCTURE

The puppy is gently set and held in a natural stance and evaluated for structure in the following categories:

• Straight front
• Straight rear
• Shoulder layback
• Front angulation / Croup angulation
• Rear angulation

see diagram below

Degree of structural soundness.

Good structure is necessary.

The puppy is correct in structure.

good

The puppy has a slight fault or deviation.

fair

The puppy has an extreme fault or deviation.

poor