Puppy Aptitude Testing (PAT) = Canine Character

(PAT) has been around for many years, it is a widely used method for help selecting the “right” puppy for the “right” home.  It also helps breeders in evaluation of obedience apitude as well as working drive.  Providing information about your needs and wants about this puppy/dog this test can provide the breeder with coinciding information to help achieve the perfect match. An assessment of both the family/other pets as well as any information helps the breeder decide which puppies would be the best match for your families needs.

Here is a sample of some of the testing:

  • Social attraction. This tests for the degree of social attraction to people, confidence, or dependence. Pack drive.
  • Following. Willingness to follow a person.  Pack drive.
  • Restraint. Degree of dominance or submissive tendency, and ease of handling in difficult situations. Fight or flight drive.
  • Social dominance. Degree of acceptance of social dominance by a person.  Pack drive.
  • Elevation dominance. Degree of accepting dominance while in a position of no control. Fight or flight drive.
  • Retrieving. Degree of willingness to do something for you. Together with social attraction and following, a key indicator for ease or difficulty in training. Prey drive.
  • Touch sensitivity. Degree of sensitivity to touch and a key indicator to the type of training equipment required.
  • Sound sensitivity. Degree of sensitivity to sound.  (Also a rudimentary test for deafness.) Prey drive.
  • Sight Sensitivity. Degree of response to a moving object, such as chasing bicycles, children or squirrels.  Prey drive.
  • Stability. Degree of startle response to a strange object.  Fight or flight drive.
  • Structure. Degree of structural soundness.  This is where the breeder observes the pup for structural soundness according to breed and health standards

Always talk with your breeder and ask questions, even if you think there inferior, everyone was a novice in the beginning!