No puppies available at this time.
How do we evaluate our puppies?
At 7 ½ weeks of age, we have a puppy tester, an experienced dog trainer, Steph Sundling, perform the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test, sometimes referred to as the PAT. The evaluator has not had any contact with the litter prior to the day of the testing. The test is conducted in a new location to the litter. Each puppy is tested by themselves away from the littermates.
Evaluation Categories
Social - how does the puppy react to the new person? Do they show excitement, moderate interest, independence, or avoidance?
Following - willingness to follow the evaluator and to continue to engage with the person.
Restraint – puppy will be held in a slightly uncomfortable position, on their back. How does the puppy react to the restraint as well as the recovery after the restraint? The recovery is important to note, as it indicates how the puppy will react to future corrections in training.
Acceptance/continued interaction – what is the degree of acceptance of social dominance by evaluator.
Elevation – puppy is held with all four feet off the ground. Is the puppy accepting of dominance while in a position with no control? As an adult, this puppy will be more willing to be examined by a vet or groomed by a groomer.
Retrieving – does the puppy retrieve or interact with the crumpled piece of paper that is thrown? Does it lose interest or pick it up or interact with the person again?
Touch Sensitivity – puppy will experience slight toe pinch to see sensitivity to pain. Equally important is how the dog recovers i.e. does it avoid the tester or forgive instantly.
Sound Sensitivity – a metal pan is dropped near the puppy to see how they react to a loud sound. Then, does the puppy go to the pan or leave the area to avoid future sounds?
Sight Sensitivity – an umbrella is opened and dropped in front of the puppy to gauge reaction to startling object and recovery time after surprise
Overall stability – how does the puppy recover from each portion of the test. How do they continue to react in the environment.
Then what?
After the test, the evaluator scores each puppy on each item. They also give an overall impression of the puppy and what time of home they may need.
The evaluator also gives their take on the puppy’s structure at that point. I’m so lucky that my tester is an experienced conformation competitor and evaluator.
I couple the results of the PAT with what I’ve seen of the litter up to that point and make decisions on the right homes. Each person should feel like they got the “pick” puppy for them. Many K-9, SAR, and competition homes may also ask to do some testing themselves. I always welcome this and love watching SAR people conduct their tests.
