Like humans, dogs have different personalities. Some are dominant, while some are submissive. Others are just the right mix of both. This can be determined even at their young age. Knowing the distinct character of your dog is one of the important considerations in choosing the right dog care or training for her.
The Campbell Puppy Test is just about the thing to help you know the kind of personality your dog has. This test doesn’t pinpoint the perfect pet; rather, it helps you pick a dog with a fairly genial character and a sound state of mind. All the same, the result of dog training is more affected by the trainer’s experience and personality than that of your dog.
Before you start the test, you have to situate yourselves – you and your pet – in a space not familiar to your dog and where possible distractions to her are kept at their very minimum.
A dog’s personality is usually established when she is 5 to 7 weeks old, but at this time, they are not yet attached to their owner or other people. Thus, this is the best time range to perform the Campbell Puppy Test in order for you to get an impartial result. In addition, you should let another person perform the test; a person who hasn't met the dog before, for more accurate findings.
To test for the area of social attraction, the tester has to sit several feet from your dog and he just has to note her behaviour. Observe her reactions. Does your dog walk towards the tester? Is her tail held up high or down low? Or does your dog ignore the tester and go the other direction or turn her eyes elsewhere? These are a few things that you have to notice in testing for the first area.
Next, position your puppy on her back with the tester’s hand, palm down, over the dog’s chest, pinning her down. Now, what is your pet’s reaction? Does he get angry and try to look over her chest to bite the tester’s hand? Does she refuse to lie still at first but eventually calms down? Or does she behave well and stayed down calmly and quietly on her back? This gauges your dog’s response to obligation, the 2nd area of the puppy test.
The 3rd area which is social domination is the puppy’s tendency to accept or reject forms of “socialization”. At this point of the test, the tester just sits with your dog and tries to pet her. Here, the puppy could either intermingle by lying on her back or squeeze herself onto the tester, or resist the fondling and run away. Note her behaviour.
This time, after being near the puppy, the tester should then walk a few steps away and see if the puppy follows or goes the other way. If she does follow, does she enthusiastically run and jump on the tester or maybe try to chew on his pants to get his attention, or does she trail him at a close distance or a few measures back? This is how to test the dog’s facility to follow.
The last area to test is the puppy’s acceptance to be lifted. Here, the tester just has to lift the dog by his chest, with the dog facing away. Make sure that she doesn’t see the tester when he tries to lift her up. Now observe if your dog is uncomfortable and scuffles her way down or tries to make the tester let go by biting his hand off. On the other hand, maybe your puppy stays calm when hoisted from the ground or just struggles at first but eventually behaves.
After performing all of these simple tests, your findings will give you a general impression on what your dog’s personality is in terms of submissiveness -- giving you an idea on what dog care or training you should use for your dog. If it is still your first time to own a dog, it is better to choose one just in between being too dominant or too compliant.
Copyright (c) 4loveofdogs.com, 2009-2010