The aim of the study was to evaluate puppy tests as a source of information on future dog behavior and character and the possibility of their use. In this study 259 German Shepherd puppies, aged from 6 to 9 weeks, were studied. All dogs came from breeds registered in organizations belonging to FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale). As a research method a modified Puppy Aptitude Test was used, involving sociability tests, dominance tests, and tests that checked innate predispositions to retrieving and cooperation with people. Predispositions investigated by the modified PAT test were checked again by a Social Test for adult dogs (after 12 months). The Social Test (TS), checking dog behavior in daily situations, was developed at the Department of Pet Breeding and Wildlife Management of the University of Life Sciences in Lublin. In total, 144 dogs were examined by the Social Test. To compare the puppy test and the Social Test for adult dogs a statistical computer program, SAS, was used. The correlation between the modified PAT test scores and the Social Test scores were calculated with the use of the Spearman rank correlations. Coefficients of correlation were counted between the subtest of the modified PAT test and the Social test that evaluated similar behaviors. It was observed that both sociability tests of the modified PAT test were correlated with subtests of the Social Test (TS1 and TS2) in a statistically significant manner (p ≤ 0.0001). In all tests on innate predispositions to retrieving, catching and cooperating with people a statistically important correlation (p ≤ 0.0001) was observed between elements of the modified PAT test and the Social Test. The highly significant dependence between results of the modified PAT test and the Social Test in this study confirm the effectiveness of puppy tests and the possibility of the preliminary estimation of future dog behavior and character.
JavaScript jest wyłączony w Twojej przeglądarce internetowej. Włącz go, a następnie odśwież stronę, aby móc w pełni z niej korzystać.