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Shiloh Shepherd
Temperament
Most Shilohs
Shepherds have stable, outgoing personalities that make them ideal
companions and friends. Some of them possess the abilities and drives to
excel in all areas of canine activities and sports, such as search and
rescue, obedience, agility, herding, schutzhund, personal protection,
tracking/trailing, and others.
All Shiloh pups should be
evaluated between 7 and 8 weeks to determine their innate potential and
abilities. This is critical for the best possible match up with their
prospective owners. Not all pups are suitable for every situation. The
most common basic temperament evaluation test is the Volhard puppy
personality test. Based on the collective results, puppy personalities
can be generalized in several categories. Please keep in mind that puppy
testing provides only a basic picture of each pup’s potential. Puppies
are living beings, they develop, learn from experiences, mature and
adjust to their environment.
PUPPY APTITUDE TEST
| TEST |
PURPOSE |
SCORE |
|
|
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. Tester must coax in a direction away
from the point where it entered the testing area. |
Degree of
social attraction, confidence or dependence. |
-Came
readily, tail up, jumped, bit at hands.
-Came readily, tail up, pawed, licked at hands.
-Came readily, tail up.
-Came readily, tail down
-Came hesitantly, tail down.
-Didn't come at all. |
1
2
3
4
5
6 |
|
FOLLOWING:
Stand up and walk away from the pup in a normal manner. Make sure
the pup sees you walk away. |
Degree of
following attraction. Not following indicates independence. |
-Followed
readily, tail up, got underfoot, bit at feet.
-Followed readily, tail up, got underfoot.
-Followed readily, tail up.
-Followed readily, tail down.
-Followed hesitantly, tail down.
-No follow or went away. |
1
2
3
4
5
6 |
|
RESTRAINT:
Crouch down and gently roll the pup on his back and hold it with
one hand for a full 30 seconds. |
Degree of
dominant or submissive tendency. How it accepts stress when
socially/ physically dominated. |
-Struggled
fiercely, flailed, bit.
-Struggled fiercely, flailed.
-Settled, struggled, settled with some eye contact.
-Struggled then settled.
-No struggle.
-No struggle, straining to avoid eye contact. |
1
2
3
4
5
6 |
|
SOCIAL DOMINANCE:
Let pup standup and gently stroke him from the head to back while
you crouch beside him. Continue stroking until a recognizable
behavior is established. |
Degree of
acceptance of social dominance. Pup may try to dominate by jumping
and nipping or is independent and walks away. |
-Jumped,
pawed, bit, growled.
-Jumped, pawded.
-Cuddles up to tester and tries to lick face.
-Squirmed, licked at hands.
-Rolled over, licked at hands.
-Went away and stayed away. |
1
2
3
4
5
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. |
-Struggled
fiercely, bit, growled.
-Struggled fiercely.
-No struggle, relaxed.
-Struggled, settled, licked.
-No struggle, licked at hands.
-No struggle, froze. |
1
2
3
4
5
6 |
OBEDIENCE APTITUDE
TEST
| TEST |
PURPOSE |
SCORE |
|
|
RETRIEVING:
Crouch
beside pup and attract his attention with crumpled up paper ball.
When the pup shows interest and is watching, toss the object 4-6
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. |
-Chases
object, picks up object and runs away.
-Chases object, stands over object, does not return.
-Chases object and returns with object to tester
-Chases object and returns without object to tester
-Starts to chase object, loses interest.
-Does not chase object. |
1
2
3
4
5
6 |
|
TOUCH SENSITIVITY:
Take puppy's webbing of one front foot and press between *finger
and thumb lightly then more firmly till you get a response, while
you count slowly to 10. Stop as soon as puppy pulls away, or shows
discomfort.
*Do NOT use fingernail. |
Degree of
sensitivity to touch. |
8-10 counts
before response.
6-7 counts before response.
5-6 counts before response.
2-4 counts before response.
1-2 counts before response. |
1
2
3
4
5 |
|
SOUND SENSITIVITY:
Place pup in the center of area, tester or assistant makes a sharp
noise a few feet from the puppy. A large metal spoon struck
sharply on a metal pan twice works well. |
Degree of
sensitivity to sound. (Also can be a rudimentary test for
deafness.) |
-Listens,
locates sound, walks toward it barking.
-Listens, locates sound, barks.
-Listens, locates sound, shows curiosity and walks toward sound.
-Listens, locates the sound.
-Cringes, backs off, hides.
-Ignores sound, shows no curiosity. |
1
2
3
4
5
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.
-Looks, barks and tail up.
-Looks curiously, attempts to investigate.
-Looks, barks, tail-tuck.
-Runs away, hides. |
1
2
3
4
5 |
|
STRUCTURE:
STRUCTURE: The puppy is gently set in a natural stance and
evaluated for structure in the following categories:
Straight front
Straight rear
Shoulder lay back
Front angulation
Croup angulation
Rear angulation |
Degree of
structural soundness. Good structure is necessary. |
-The puppy
is correct in structure.
-The puppy has a slight fault or deviation.
-The puppy has an extreme fault or deviation. |
good
fair
poor |
Interpreting the Scores
Mostly 1s
– hard temperament
Such pup is a very dominant, aggressive and has the potential to bite
due to a dominance aggression. Hard dogs will look for fight and will
not back down. They are very confident and will challenge human
leadership. Due to their nature, they require only the most experienced,
strong handlers. Hard dogs are completely unsuitable as family
companions but can make excellent security and guard dogs with proper
training and supervision.
Dogs with this type of temperament and a true dominance aggression are
extremely rare.
Mostly 2s
– medium hard
This pup is dominant and self-assured, with a strong protective
instinct. Medium hard dogs are confident, outgoing and often
territorial. They can be provoked to bite but will readily respond to
firm, consistent leadership and be very trustworthy in the right
environment. These dogs are not for indecisive individuals since they
will become alphas in such circumstances and will enforce their
leadership. With a firm, consistent, and authoritative leader, medium
hard dogs become excellent, trustworthy companions and excel in all
areas. This is an ideal type of temperament for a confident and
experienced handler looking for a serious working prospect.
Mostly 3s
– medium
This is a nice fit for most situations. Medium pups are happy, well
adjusted, confident, social, stable, and adjust easily to a variety of
environments. They still require exercise and obedience training. Even
though they are not aggressive by nature, they will defend their loved
ones. Medium dogs might be too much to handle for a family with small
children or elderly, sedentary owners.
Mostly 4s
- medium soft
Medium soft pup is gentle, adaptable, and submissive puppy that looks
for leadership and reassurance. These dogs are easy to train with
positive methods, good with kids, affectionate. They make ideal,
undemanding family companions.
Mostly 5s
- soft
This pup is very submissive and lack self-confidence. Such dogs bond
very closely with their owners and constantly look for reassurance. They
need lots of positive socialization and encouragement to bring out their
potential otherwise they can become fearful and fear biters. The best
environment for soft dogs is quiet, loving, undemanding household with
lots of patience and time, such as retired or elderly owners.
Mostly 6s
This is a very independent puppy that has a very little need for human
companionship. As adults, these dogs are not very affectionate and are
hard to motivate in training. This is a rarely seen temperament in well
socialized pups.
Information on this page provided courtesy of
Wendy Volhard.©
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