Temperament Testing
“Wait, we have to wait for some test to choose our puppy? But I want that one, he’s so cute!”
We know as you watch our little puppies grow up on social media, it’s really hard not to get your heart set on one. They are pretty darn adorable after all!
However, we promise our buyers that we will recommend the puppy that will bring them the most joy as it grows. How do we fulfill this promise every time? Temperament testing!
What is temperament testing?
Temperament testing is a key part of our program that gives our puppies a chance to express who they are, as well as where they are at in their level of comfort with the outside world. In other words, it allows us to understand key traits that will determine what kind of environment and family dynamic each puppy will thrive in.
It also helps us meet the needs of all of our buyers, whether they need a dog ready for life as a service animal, a puppy who can handle child temper tantrums, or a dog who’s ready to sit in their lap all the way through retirement.
But, how do you “test” a dog?
During their seven-week old birthday, we take one puppy at a time into a controlled and relatively new environment. Then, the “tester” takes the puppy through a series of tasks, and we give a score for each task. We use the BaB temperament test at Olive Branch Bernedoodles, which involves seven steps to walk the puppies through.
Now, we are not ranking puppies or looking for an A+ student. Instead, we are gaining a deep understanding of each puppy to create a sort of puppy profile as a way to share their personality with our buyers.
What traits go into this “puppy profile”?
There are two main categories of traits that we are testing for. The first is stable traits. These are personality qualities that the puppy was born with, and will likely stay the same throughout their life.
The second is adjustable traits. These traits can be shifted with proper training, or from a lack thereof. Our program focuses on targeting these traits before pups go home, but puppies will still need support with these traits during the rest of their development.
Okay, okay, I know that was a lot of background. We like to geek out with this stuff! Here is a table of the traits we are actually testing for, broken down by stable and adjustable traits.
Are we just giving you more fancy words? Hardly! We’ll go into some brief descriptions of each of the traits, then explain which traits are best for different home environments and situations.
Please keep in mind though that this is only one testing situation. Puppies are live animals with emotions, so just like humans, sometimes they are having a bad day or feel tired. Because of this, a temperament test isn’t going to always give a perfectly accurate representation of a puppy. We will give more background on what characteristics we’ve observed in each puppy alongside the results when you are choosing your puppy to take home.
Also, we are describing the “extreme” ends of the scale here, but many puppies lie somewhere in the middle for these traits!
🐾 Touch Tolerance: Whether the puppy couldn’t care less if we tug on their ears and cover their eyes (and maybe they even like it), or they would rather not be poked and prodded
🐾 Energy Level: They are all “go, go, go!”, running and playing a lot, or more mellow and calm
🐾 Sound Sensitivity: Unusual or loud sounds make them appear extremely stressed or frightened, or they are unphased by them
🐾 Sight Sensitivity: Unusual or fast sights make them appear extremely stressed or frightened, or they are unphased by them
🐾 Prey Drive: They want to chase, stalk, and shake their toys, or they aren’t very interested in playing with their toys
🐾 Human focus: They are very interested in the people around them and focused on what they are doing, or more independent
🐾 Tender Hearted: Whether intense human emotions are overwhelming to them, or concerned about distressed humans and wanting to check on them, or indifferent to displays of emotion
🐾 Dog Friendliness: They are assertive and confident in initiating interactions with other dogs, or more submissive when approaching a dog
🐾 Assertiveness (human): They feel authoritative around people and willing to come straight into their space, or is more timid and polite
🐾 Confidence: They are eager and curious, or unsure and in need of reassurance in new situations
🐾 Motivation Level: They prioritize working for their person and figuring out what is wanted from them, or doing their own thing
🐾 Nerve Strength / Resiliency: They are not easily stressed and recover quickly when they are, or easily stressed and have a harder time recovering
Types of homes and helpful traits
We will always take each family on a case by case basis when recommending a dog, and this is definitely not an exhaustive list of circumstances, but here are some general things we look out for with some common family requests or needs to give you an idea of how the process works:
A home with young children may need a puppy with low sight and sound sensitivity to avoid him or her being overstimulated by the kids. However, if the puppy is too assertive or has too much energy, problems may arise in creating boundaries between them and the kids.
A calmer home, perhaps with retired buyers, may find that a puppy with low energy and a low prey drive fits in with their routine nicely.
Homes wanting an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) for depression and/or anxiety will fit well with a puppy with high human focus. However, if a puppy is extremely tender hearted or has low confidence, both the puppy and owner might face some challenges.
Homes in need of a service dog vary in their needs a lot, but a puppy with high confidence, high motivation, high nerve strength, and low sight/sound sensitivity is a good place to start! Then, for example, a puppy with high nose awareness may be well suited for diabetic alert work.
How our program works to shift adjustable traits, and how you can too:
Our program includes daily stimulation activities to help our puppies be comfortable with the variability they will encounter in everyday life.
For example, we play soundtracks of common noises that dogs and puppies can be normally fearful of such as fireworks, traffic, thunder, dogs barking, and babies crying. This can provoke a startle/recovery sequence that eventually desensitizes the puppies to these sounds.
After a while, the “scary” sounds become familiar, and therefore a lot less intimidating! We do similar activities for sight desensitization, like by waving things over the puppy’s heads. These activities work on the sound / sight sensitivity and nerve strength traits.
At home, if a sight or sound scares your bernedoodle, be sure to call them right away by saying “puppy, puppy, puppy!” with a happy expression. If you pick them up immediately and start cuddling, they will think they were right to be scared and that you are protecting them. On the other hand, encouraging them to come see the source of the startle tells them that it is safe and they shouldn’t be afraid!
For confidence, socialization is key. We make sure to introduce the puppies to people of different ages, skin colors, levels of facial hair, fashion sense, and the list goes on. We also introduce them to different settings, like on grass, concrete, dirt, with a loud or quiet environment. They are always a little shy at first, but with a little encouragement and lots of play time, they become more sure of themselves.
For the next 2 months after puppies go home, socialization is critical to continue, as the most effective social window in a puppies life closes at 16 weeks. Before they get their vaccines it is a little trickier to introduce them to new locations, but even holding them or keeping them in a wagon during walks will help increase their confidence. Inviting many different people to your home to meet your new puppy is also a great option. Once they are all vaccinated, bringing them to parks, the beach, and gatherings is incredibly helpful for development and confidence.
Lastly, we go through a ten step touch process for six weeks to increase puppy’s touch tolerance. By adding increasing pressure, starting gently of course, we work up to ear tugging and firm touch- and this is a great thing to continue once puppies go home!
Is there something your dog does that makes them seem like they were made just for your family, or just in general melts your heart? Let us know in the comments below, we always love a wholesome puppy story!