I've seen the Flinks and Volhard puppy tests mentioned here but not noted anyone mentioning the adult evaluation - anyone have any thoughts on how helpful this is to adjusting your training style to your adult dog?

http://www.volhard.com/pages/canine-personality-profile.php

Didn't have any real surprises out of it but I did find it interesting, though it's difficult to be objective with your own dog.

That is interesting. For my puppy, I'm guessing some of this might be skewed by developmental stages, but it seems to indicate that his highest drives are prey and flight. I was surprised that fight came in a distant third with pack way down low, but I have always felt I've had to work a bit to get him to bond with us outside of training. If I'm not actively engaging him in training, he is affectionate, but still seems to be a bit more independent than other dogs I've had.

I'm not sure if this gave me any new information, but it did have some good ideas as far as using different drives to motivate a dog in training.

Very interesting. I think the numbers would be cool when compared to other dogs, and if there was a list of typical breed values as well as values of typical dogs that succeed in different sports/jobs.

Here are Carlin's

Prey: 75
Pack: 66
Fight: 52
Flight: 54

Almost always – 7-10;
Sometimes – 4-6;
Hardly ever – 0-3.

You may not have had the chance to observe all of these behaviors, in which case you leave the answer blank.

When presented with the opportunity, does your dog
GSD- 3.9 years

1. Sniff the ground or air? _9____
2. Get along with other dogs? __7___
3. Stand his ground or show curiosity in strange objects or sounds? _10____
4. Run away from new situations? ___0__
5. Get excited by moving objects, such as bikes or squirrels? ___5_
6. Get along with people? ___10__
7. Like to play tug-of-war games to win? _10____
8. Hide behind you when he feels he can’t cope? _0____
9. Stalk cats, other dogs, or things in the grass? __6___
10. Bark when left alone? ___0__
11. Bark or growl in a deep tone of voice? _0____
12. Act fearfully in unfamiliar situations? __0___
13. When excited, bark in a high-pitched voice? __0___
14. Solicit petting, or like to snuggle with you? ___0__
15. Guard his territory? __2___
16. Tremble or whine when unsure? _0____
17. Pounce on his toys? ____10_
18. Like to be groomed? _1____
19. Guard his food or toys? _0____
20. Cower or turn upside down when reprimanded? ___0__
21. Shake and “kill” his toys? _10____
22. Seek eye contact with you? ____10_
23. Dislike being petted? __7___
24. Act reluctant to come close to you when called? __0___
25. Steal food or garbage? _0____
26. Follow you around like a shadow? _8__
27. Guard his owner(s)? _3____
28. Have difficulty standing still when groomed? __7_
29. Like to carry things in his mouth? __10___
30. Play a lot with other dogs? ___3__
31. Dislike being groomed or petted? ___7__
32. Cower or cringe when a stranger bends over him? _0____
33. Wolf down his food? ____8_
34. Jump up to greet people? ___3__
35. Like to fight other dogs? _____
36. Urinate during greeting behavior? __0___
37. Like to dig and/or bury things? _0____
38. Show reproductive behaviors, such as mounting other dogs? ___0__
39. Get picked on by older dogs when he was a young dog? ___0__
40. Tend to bite when cornered? __0___





Poodle-9 months





1. Sniff the ground or air? _7____
2. Get along with other dogs? __10___
3. Stand his ground or show curiosity in strange objects or sounds? _7___
4. Run away from new situations? ___3__
5. Get excited by moving objects, such as bikes or squirrels? __9__
6. Get along with people? ___10__
7. Like to play tug-of-war games to win? _5____
8. Hide behind you when he feels he can’t cope? _0____
9. Stalk cats, other dogs, or things in the grass? __5__
10. Bark when left alone? ___3__
11. Bark or growl in a deep tone of voice? _0____
12. Act fearfully in unfamiliar situations? __0___
13. When excited, bark in a high-pitched voice? __0___
14. Solicit petting, or like to snuggle with you? ___9__
15. Guard his territory? __0__
16. Tremble or whine when unsure? _0____
17. Pounce on his toys? ____5
18. Like to be groomed? _7____
19. Guard his food or toys? _0____
20. Cower or turn upside down when reprimanded? ___0__
21. Shake and “kill” his toys? _6__
22. Seek eye contact with you? ____6
23. Dislike being petted? __0___
24. Act reluctant to come close to you when called? __2___
25. Steal food or garbage? _9____
26. Follow you around like a shadow? _7__
27. Guard his owner(s)? _0____
28. Have difficulty standing still when groomed? __2_
29. Like to carry things in his mouth? __7___
30. Play a lot with other dogs? ___7
31. Dislike being groomed or petted? _____2
32. Cower or cringe when a stranger bends over him? _0____
33. Wolf down his food? ____2
34. Jump up to greet people? ___10__
35. Like to fight other dogs? ____0_
36. Urinate during greeting behavior? __0___
37. Like to dig and/or bury things? _5____
38. Show reproductive behaviors, such as mounting other dogs? ___5_
39. Get picked on by older dogs when he was a young dog? ___9__
40. Tend to bite when cornered? __0___

All the tests are "supposed to be" to see what a puppy has naturally pre-training.
With an adult or even an older puppy you may have little to no idea how it was raised and that can cover or create a multitude of problems that may or may not be the dog's true nature.

 Quote: Bob Scott

All the tests are "supposed to be" to see what a puppy has naturally pre-training.
With an adult or even an older puppy you may have little to no idea how it was raised and that can cover or create a multitude of problems that may or may not be the dog's true nature.

Yep.

Three examples to support Bob's point:

- #25; Steal food or garbage? Sadie did this when I adopted her. She no longer attempts to do anything bolder than groveling, but I'm sure if she wasn't managed aggressively, this tendency would return.

- #26; Follow you around like a shadow? She did for about a year. Now, after going everywhere and doing everything with me, she is more independent and much less clingy.

- #29; Like to carry things in her mouth? Not at all when I got her, and still is not gratified by it. She only does it on command because, somewhere along the line, she figured out that there were HV treats involved. Now she gladly does it whenever I tell her to.

So how do you answer? Based on current, conditioned performance, or based on your intimate knowledge of your dog's true nature? IMHO, that would depend on the criteria for your evaluation.

Sadie's results are skewed for another reason; an intangible that slips through the cracks of this test (although, if you read between the lines, it is revealed during this survey)...
Sadie has super-high prey drive for small animals, birds, insects, bicycles, and motorcycles. However, she has almost no drive for balls and toys. These are the key items used in training working canines, so this renders her almost useless as far as being a candidate for protection or as a real working dog. This is the result of having drives that were not nurtured during her development and foundation.

I understand what you're saying.. will file it under 'interesting' not 'useful'

Like personality tests for people, I would expect these to change as an animal ages - we all do adapt to our environments, of course. I tried to base mine on what I was relatively sure Duke would do if no one tried to stop him or redirect him and got high prey/high pack/mid fight/low flight - I'm sure his 'pack' numbers will drop slightly as he matures and his fight may come up somewhat by 2 years, and prey will probably moderate due to drive capping. I kind of like having a shadow but it makes it hard to sweep up all the dog hair with him right there!

I agree, this is more interesting than anything. However, like personality tests for people, I think the way to answer these are as if the dog wasn't influenced by training.

For example, for those that know about MBTI (http://www.myersbriggs.org), or the Myers Brigs Type Indicator test, a personality assessment for people, I type out as a stereotypical INTP, which is described as

"Seek to develop logical explanations for everything that interests them. Theoretical and abstract, interested more in ideas than in social interaction. Quiet, contained, flexible, and adaptable. Have unusual ability to focus in depth to solve problems in their area of interest. Skeptical, sometimes critical, always analytical."

However, I have worked hard to develop my extroversion and people skills, as these are important qualities in today's world. Some common questions in MBTI are:

You frequently and easily express your feelings and emotions
True/False

Your desk, workbench, etc. is usually neat and orderly
True/False

Now, my natural instinct is to answer both of these "FALSE." However, through training in public speaking, leadership training, and practice, I could now easily answer TRUE to the first question.

For the second question, I've learned that the benefits of being neat outweigh my nature desire to leave things as they lie. I have no natural urge to clean, I'm a slob at heart. However, if you looked at my things, you would see them neat and orderly.

Going back to dog training, Carlin has been trained not to steal food, but before I trained him, he was an accomplished thief. So, for that question I scored him high. I THINK this is the best way to go about these sorts of tests, but of course, I could be wrong.

Therein lies the conflict that I proposed, John... I think it depends on your reason for doing the survey.

If you're interested in your dog's natural inclinations, as you would a prospective puppy purchase, you would definitely score it the way you did. However, if you were going to evaluate a mature dog for rehoming or for training, immediate factors such as liveability and biddability would come into play, so you might be more inclined to evaluate the dog as he stands (at this moment).