- Location
- Herefordshire, UK
What made you smile today?
- Thread starter snowbunny
- Start date
This
- Location
- Herefordshire, UK
He is soooo beautiful. You chose well @SwampDonkey
- Location
- Herefordshire, UK
I smiled tonight at five o'clock ---- still light in the UK. 
The birds are singing in the mornings.x
- Location
- Fife, Scotland
I smiled at the end of my shift as I had an “invisible” day today where I was at work but spent pretty much the whole day in the grooming room (apart from an hour and a half doing temperament testing on a litter), and just left the other girls to it. I left feeling very accomplished as I have completed a big chunk of my “to-do” list which was causing me stress.
We have also come up with a plan to unload the work onto the other girls by dedicating 4 hours per week which will be specifically for training purposes and for me teaching the girls other things to help them develop their skills.
We have also come up with a plan to unload the work onto the other girls by dedicating 4 hours per week which will be specifically for training purposes and for me teaching the girls other things to help them develop their skills.
- Location
- Herefordshire, UK
Sounds excellent Sophie 
.
I'd love to know more about the temperament testing.
.I'd love to know more about the temperament testing.
So would I!Sounds excellent Sophie
I'd love to know more about the temperament testing.
- Location
- Cornwall , UK
I see drool ! x
- Location
- Herefordshire, UK
Good boy Kipper!
- Location
- Fife, Scotland
** LONG POST WARNING** 
"We conduct a structured assessment of every puppy's temperament shortly after they turn 7 weeks old. This is when cognitive development is complete so we can get the most accurate results. Every puppy is placed into the same series of different scenarios and we gauge and record their reaction to each stimulus. This allows us to build a picture of how each puppy's temperament will develop as they reach maturity. The temperament test we use is unique to us and has been developed by combining methods used in the Volhard and APET tests and adapting them to suit the Australian Labradoodle breed. The Volhard and APET tests were developed for generic use across all breeds and we have found our adaptation to be most accurate and reliable for the Australian Labradoodle breed."
Some scenarios include; hitting a metal spoon off a pot to judge their sound sensitivity, opening up and umbrella in front of them and seeing how they react, introducing the puppy to an adult dog (usually Oreo), and just generally looking at their energy levels, vocal expression, manners and resilience throughout the test. We then add up the scores and place them on a scale from Passive to Active, with Neutral being in the middle and the ideal puppy.
We are different from a lot of breeders as we will allocate the puppy to the family rather than it being a "first come, first serve" basis. We look at it in the sense that the puppy that the family would pick, may not actually be the most suitable for their family, for example, if they have young kids, you don't really want to give them a more active/loud puppy who is a little sh*t. The other thing is that if you do choices, if somebody doesn't get their first choice, they can be somewhat disappointed, which is a little unfair on the puppy. It's like "Oh that's not the puppy we wanted" so there is a bit of disappointment hanging over the owners' head when they bring the puppy home. If the just get allocated their puppy, it's more of a "oh yay this is our puppy!!" type of situation, and people are generally happier and more excited.
The way we do temperament testing and allocation is something that sets us apart from any of the other breeders in the UK, I think we are the only ALD breeder in the UK who actually does temperament testing. We know some people don't like this way, but most people actually come to us for this reason as they believe they wouldn't be able to pick from a litter of really cute puppies!
This is taken from our website:
"We conduct a structured assessment of every puppy's temperament shortly after they turn 7 weeks old. This is when cognitive development is complete so we can get the most accurate results. Every puppy is placed into the same series of different scenarios and we gauge and record their reaction to each stimulus. This allows us to build a picture of how each puppy's temperament will develop as they reach maturity. The temperament test we use is unique to us and has been developed by combining methods used in the Volhard and APET tests and adapting them to suit the Australian Labradoodle breed. The Volhard and APET tests were developed for generic use across all breeds and we have found our adaptation to be most accurate and reliable for the Australian Labradoodle breed."
Some scenarios include; hitting a metal spoon off a pot to judge their sound sensitivity, opening up and umbrella in front of them and seeing how they react, introducing the puppy to an adult dog (usually Oreo), and just generally looking at their energy levels, vocal expression, manners and resilience throughout the test. We then add up the scores and place them on a scale from Passive to Active, with Neutral being in the middle and the ideal puppy.
We are different from a lot of breeders as we will allocate the puppy to the family rather than it being a "first come, first serve" basis. We look at it in the sense that the puppy that the family would pick, may not actually be the most suitable for their family, for example, if they have young kids, you don't really want to give them a more active/loud puppy who is a little sh*t. The other thing is that if you do choices, if somebody doesn't get their first choice, they can be somewhat disappointed, which is a little unfair on the puppy. It's like "Oh that's not the puppy we wanted" so there is a bit of disappointment hanging over the owners' head when they bring the puppy home. If the just get allocated their puppy, it's more of a "oh yay this is our puppy!!" type of situation, and people are generally happier and more excited.
The way we do temperament testing and allocation is something that sets us apart from any of the other breeders in the UK, I think we are the only ALD breeder in the UK who actually does temperament testing. We know some people don't like this way, but most people actually come to us for this reason as they believe they wouldn't be able to pick from a litter of really cute puppies!
- Location
- Argyll & Bute, Scotland
@kateincornwall How wonderfully romantic. Paul can do no wrong in my book after that 
xx Happy Anniversary to you both xx 
xx Happy Anniversary to you both xx 
Candy
Biscuit Tin Guardian
- Location
- West Yorkshire, UK
Well done! I always love a plan! A good plan goes a long way towards reducing stress and anxiety.I smiled at the end of my shift as I had an “invisible” day today where I was at work but spent pretty much the whole day in the grooming room (apart from an hour and a half doing temperament testing on a litter), and just left the other girls to it. I left feeling very accomplished as I have completed a big chunk of my “to-do” list which was causing me stress.
We have also come up with a plan to unload the work onto the other girls by dedicating 4 hours per week which will be specifically for training purposes and for me teaching the girls other things to help them develop their skills.
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
Yes I do too. Used to do loads during my working life and still hear myself saying ‘so we have a plan’ - always empowering
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
For anyone interested in puppy temperament tests, I know some people swear by them, but they've been largely dismissed in scientific studies as having very little predictive value. Here's an article discussing some of the research: Do Puppy Personality Tests Predict Adult Dog Behaviors?
The study that is discussed can be found in full here: The Predictive Value of Early Behavioural Assessments in Pet Dogs – A Longitudinal Study from Neonates to Adults
From a purely anecdotal point of view, Willow, Shadow, and Annie are completely different as adults than they were as young puppies.
I do think there's great value in the breeder choosing the puppy for the owners, rather than letting them choose their own, though. I just don't think temperament tests should be taken as the most important part of the decision process.
The study that is discussed can be found in full here: The Predictive Value of Early Behavioural Assessments in Pet Dogs – A Longitudinal Study from Neonates to Adults
From a purely anecdotal point of view, Willow, Shadow, and Annie are completely different as adults than they were as young puppies.
I do think there's great value in the breeder choosing the puppy for the owners, rather than letting them choose their own, though. I just don't think temperament tests should be taken as the most important part of the decision process.
- Location
- Herefordshire, UK
Thank you @Sophiedoodle , that's really interesting. I wonder how it does pan out as they as they reach maturity. Do people know what their puppy is gauged at when they take them home? I wonder how it influences the perception of the puppies as they grow up.
@snowbunny , I guess it raises the nature versus nurture debate!
Yes, I think having the breeder choose the puppy for people is a good idea.
@snowbunny , I guess it raises the nature versus nurture debate!
Yes, I think having the breeder choose the puppy for people is a good idea.
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
I'm not sure there is much of a debate these days (at least in scientific circles) - the two are both in action at all times
- Location
- Fife, Scotland
I tend to disagree and think that temperament is way more important than say, physical attributes.
We look at the whole picture, so knowing how their life will end up - will the puppy be home with someone most the time? Will puppy be taken to doggy daycare? Are you first time dog owners or do you already have experience? - all of these things are very important to take into account and that is why I feel temperament is important. Letting a first time dog owner choose the most confident and bounciest puppy is a bad idea as they will often struggle in knowing how to deal with puppy. This is mainly the reason we don’t do a “first come, first served” basis.
From our experience, temperament has been very similar in the adult dog compared to when they were a puppy - we know this from breeding dogs we keep! It’s also very fun to do the testing
We look at the whole picture, so knowing how their life will end up - will the puppy be home with someone most the time? Will puppy be taken to doggy daycare? Are you first time dog owners or do you already have experience? - all of these things are very important to take into account and that is why I feel temperament is important. Letting a first time dog owner choose the most confident and bounciest puppy is a bad idea as they will often struggle in knowing how to deal with puppy. This is mainly the reason we don’t do a “first come, first served” basis.
From our experience, temperament has been very similar in the adult dog compared to when they were a puppy - we know this from breeding dogs we keep! It’s also very fun to do the testing
yes they do. Their “score” gets placed on a scale and the owners get a copy of this - so they know exactly where the puppy was placed on the scale
- Location
- Herefordshire, UK
Very true, maybe debate was the wrong word
Interesting all the same.
Yes I bet!
Thanks for the reply