Temperament test question

[Wilkie]

Maybe I am missing something, but when shelters or rescues do temperament tests, are they actually doing anything helpful? Dogs that are shy or growl when someone touches their toys or food after you just gave it to them (touching the food bowl or dog with those fake hands on a pole) are considered not adoptable and therefore euthanized for "safety reasons". Cats are also tested and end up euthanized for being shy or aggressive.

Maybe someone can better explain temperament tests and whether they are even helpful or if the "behaviorists" have unrealistic expectations. Do they really know what they're doing or anything about animals?

[emmabeth]

It depends massively on the assessment itself, how its carried out and then what is done following it.

I personally think a lot of shelters use a form of assessment to weed out those easy to rehome from those who will need work - some of these shelters may NOT be aware that the assessments they use are very confrontational and not helpful, some of them absolutely ARE aware.

Whilst that sounds (and is) awful, some shelters cannot sustain a no-kill status and they have to have SOME way to determine which dogs to put down first.

[Wilkie]

I just don't see the point in sticking a fake hand in a dog's bowl while it's eating. I think it just reinforces the dog's thinking even further that s/he has to eat as fast a possible because they may not know when they'll eat again. This test I believe is setting a dog up for failure and possibly being put to sleep because a child or adult wanted to bother the dog while it was eating. That isn't fair to the dog. Why make noise or open umbrellas on purpose to startle a dog and than punish them for being skittish? Why overwhelm them when they're already traumatized just to get false results?

I don't think tests are realistic. I get that some shelters need to make room because they might be stretched thin, but potentially great dogs are being killed because of false results and unrealistic expectations. No dog is 110% perfect.

Doesn’t this continue to applaud the treatment of dogs that are considered too dangerous to exist?

[JudyN]

potentially great dogs are being killed because of false results and unrealistic expectations.

Yes, but potentially great dogs are going to be killed anyway, because there are just too many out there Imagine that you run a rescue and have 100 dogs turn up, and you know that you can only take in 50. If you take the time to do a full assessment, including giving the dog time to settle in in the first place, you would be able to take in even fewer. So you need a way of deciding, quickly, which have the most potential to be good family dogs.

Let's face it, most people rehoming a dog would prefer one where a child can wander up to the dog while eating and pet it in complete safety. This is even the case even if they never intend to let their child do this, or they haven't any children. If you stick a fake arm in the dog's bowl, the dog who doesn't growl or show any aggression is more likely to have this kind of temperament than the dog who does. this isn't to say that the dog who does isn't a great dog who can become bombproof very quickly, it's a matter of percentages. And the sooner you can rehome a dog, the sooner you can take in another.

There are a lot of 'kennel blockers' in dog rescues. These are dogs that for whatever reason, no one seems to want. They can be fantastic dogs, but may be unsure of children, not housetrained, have separation anxiety, have some form of aggression, or nondescript in appearance. If anyone does take such a dog, they may return it the first time it growls/pees on the carpet etc. The rescues have a dilemma - in the time that dog has been in the kennel, they could have taken in and rehomed six cute, fluffy dogs without any issues at all, but because of this one dog no one wants may now have been euthanised. So to save the lives of as many dogs as possible, the best policy is to take the cute ones who appear to have no issues, and to make your decisions as fast as possible with a 'rough and ready reckoner'.

There may well be a better way - I'm not an expert, but I know that plenty of great dogs would fail the standard tests (mine would for sure). But the people who work in these rescues have heartbreaking decisions to make every day

[Wilkie]

potentially great dogs are being killed because of false results and unrealistic expectations.

Yes, but potentially great dogs are going to be killed anyway, because there are just too many out there Imagine that you run a rescue and have 100 dogs turn up, and you know that you can only take in 50. If you take the time to do a full assessment, including giving the dog time to settle in in the first place, you would be able to take in even fewer. So you need a way of deciding, quickly, which have the most potential to be good family dogs.

Let's face it, most people rehoming a dog would prefer one where a child can wander up to the dog while eating and pet it in complete safety. This is even the case even if they never intend to let their child do this, or they haven't any children. If you stick a fake arm in the dog's bowl, the dog who doesn't growl or show any aggression is more likely to have this kind of temperament than the dog who does. this isn't to say that the dog who does isn't a great dog who can become bombproof very quickly, it's a matter of percentages. And the sooner you can rehome a dog, the sooner you can take in another.

There are a lot of 'kennel blockers' in dog rescues. These are dogs that for whatever reason, no one seems to want. They can be fantastic dogs, but may be unsure of children, not housetrained, have separation anxiety, have some form of aggression, or nondescript in appearance. If anyone does take such a dog, they may return it the first time it growls/pees on the carpet etc. The rescues have a dilemma - in the time that dog has been in the kennel, they could have taken in and rehomed six cute, fluffy dogs without any issues at all, but because of this one dog no one wants may now have been euthanised. So to save the lives of as many dogs as possible, the best policy is to take the cute ones who appear to have no issues, and to make your decisions as fast as possible with a 'rough and ready reckoner'.

There may well be a better way - I'm not an expert, but I know that plenty of great dogs would fail the standard tests (mine would for sure). But the people who work in these rescues have heartbreaking decisions to make every day

It's unfortunate that people would refuse to take a dog in just because it isn't cute, fluffy and perfect or because they don't want to bother with training a dog. Some people just want dogs so that they can do whatever they want with them, but expect the dog to just deal with being bothered. Lack of respect for animals maybe?

[JudyN]

It's unfortunate that people would refuse to take a dog in just because it isn't cute, fluffy and perfect or because they don't want to bother with training a dog. Some people just want dogs so that they can do whatever they want with them, but expect the dog to just deal with being bothered. Lack of respect for animals maybe?

Rose tinted glasses, I think. It's like choosing a partner, if you just take the one whose looks appeal most, you're not going to last long as a couple. We take months or years to decide if we want to stay with a person for life but a matter of hours to choose a dog, which is not enough to discover what they're really like. And we walk past the ones who don't appeal immediately with barely a glance.

[Wilkie]

It's unfortunate that people would refuse to take a dog in just because it isn't cute, fluffy and perfect or because they don't want to bother with training a dog. Some people just want dogs so that they can do whatever they want with them, but expect the dog to just deal with being bothered. Lack of respect for animals maybe?

Rose tinted glasses, I think. It's like choosing a partner, if you just take the one whose looks appeal most, you're not going to last long as a couple. We take months or years to decide if we want to stay with a person for life but a matter of hours to choose a dog, which is not enough to discover what they're really like. And we walk past the ones who don't appeal immediately with barely a glance.

The shelter that I am interested in adopting from has a very strict and specific way of dealing with this problem. They won't give a dog to just anyone, they have the person fill out an application that is very specific. You could either be denied or accepted and if you're accepted they'll find a dog that goes along with the application answers. They make random home visits to make sure their dogs or whatever animal they adopt out are healthy and being taken care of. They also require that the dogs be trained by a positive reinforcement trainer. The process weeds out the irresponsible people and the people who decide to get a dog for selfish, greedy or cruel reasons. People from the shelter even make a home visit before the adoption is complete in order to make sure the dogs have everything they need. You can’t adopt if you’re moving or if you live a certain distance away as well. They will not adopt out animals just because someone thinks they look adorable and they will require you to put effort into training.