Yesterday my daughter helped me conduct our Puppy Personality Assessments. You need someone the puppies do not know in order to get an accurate read. If you are interested in the test itself, how it is conducted and what the results mean, you can find it in this blog at: http://www.havanesehaven.blogspot.com/2012/08/volhard-puppy-personality-profile.html.
Each puppy is tested separately. The only difference this time is that I eliminated a few tests. The ones we performed were for:
1. Sociability
2. Following
3. Acceptance of Restraint
4. Acceptance of Dominance
5. Elevation Test
6. Sound Sensitivity
7. Sight Sensitivity
I should also mention that this test was originally created to test dogs for the military. The Leader Dogs people also use a version of it to select their puppies. Much of the results do not apply to Havanese. For instance, some of the possible reactions by the puppies are biting, growling, etc. Havanese just don’t have these reactions in their make-up! They are lovers….not fighters!
Still, we glean some insight into each puppy when we conduct the test. So here we golWe did seven tests this time.
#1-Social Attraction
#2-Following
#3-Restraint
#4-Dominance
#5-Elevation Test
#6-Sound Sensitivity
#7-Sight Sensitivity
I skipped one test this time around because it pretty much overlapped with the #4 Dominance testing.
Zazu scored mostly 3’s on his testing. Exceptions were #4 where he scored a 4.5. So, he is a confident puppy that likes to interact with people and has no really dominance issues.
Ziggy scored in the mid-range for the first four tests and 6’s and a 5 on the last three. Like Zazu, he was relaxed, not stiff, for the Elevation Test. And he was pretty much disinterested in the keys tossed on the floor. He is a very social puppy and pretty calm.
Zola was a little more hesitant to come to and follow my daughter when called. But still she had her tail up, so she was happy about it. She did not like to be on her back in Test 3 but the other dominance tests did not bother her at all. She scored 5 on Sound and Sight Sensitivity. Basically she is a little more on the timid side but will likely grow out of this as she matures.
Zoey scored more on the high side of the numbers. She didn’t come to Julie when called…was more interested in exploring her surroundings. Her tail was up for both tests 1 and 2. She squirmed a bit in test #3 and #4 but then settled down so she is not terribly dominant. She had no interest in the keys…the noise did not startle her either. But she did explore the towel Julie dragged in front of her for test #7. Zoey is quite curious, loves to play and will likely be a better puppy for an adult.
Zia is a little more on the independent side. She did come to Julie readily with her tail up. However she did not like to be restrained at all…basically struggling through the next three tests. She ignored the tossed keys and, like Zoey, was curious about the towel in test #7. Zia is very social but will need more consistency in her training.
Zenia got very excited when she saw Julie. She scored a 1 and a 2 for the Social testing. Like Zia, she did not like to be petted in a restrained mode, however. She did not like being on her back or elevated at first; but did settle down after a few seconds. And she was very curious about both the tossed keys and the dragged towel and readily investigated both of them. Zenia appears to be very social, confident and willing to please.
Zhubin is pretty much a carbon copy of Zenia. An overall wonderful boy that is just a bit more outgoing and vocal.
Zusa is one of those puppies that doesn’t test like my observations of her. For instance, she was not very interested in Julie at all. And, like many of the others, did not like to be restrained. The tossed keys did not bother her but she was a little frightened by the towel. What I have observed about Zusa, though, is that she is a real lap buddy despite her apparent moderate confidence levels. She will make a wonderful companion for someone who does not need her to engage with a lot of other people. Not that she won’t engage. It’s just that she’s likely to prefer being with her family.
I’ve studied all these puppies very carefully. Especially when families came to visit…and we had a LOT of families come visit. They are all very responsive to people…no surprise there, they are Havanese!! Some are a little slower to engage…Ziggy for one, and Zusa. But those two are really lap buddies when picked up and respond very well to petting and stroking. None of the pups are at the far ends of Social, Dominance or Sensitivities.
I hope these assessments help. I find the process very interesting and, for the most part, accurate.
