THE FOLLOWING FEATURE ARTICLE IS A REPRINT FROM
THE INFORMATIVE WORKING DOG MAGAZINE JUNE 1999
(Owned and run by Evan Harbalis from Von Ultimate Kennels)

Thanks goes to Evan (Non Classical Dogs)

WHAT THE PUPPY CAN SHOW YOU
A PERSPECTIVE ON PUPPY EVALUATION

By Sheila Booth


Lots has been written these days about puppy evaluation. It's a hot topic of debate in many dog training/competition circles, as well as on internet lists. Some denounce it as useless. Others begrudgingly agree that it gives you an inkling. And its proponents swear by it. Where does the truth lie?
As one who has had the privilege of evaluating hundreds of puppies over the past twenty years or more, personal experience assures me that it is a powerful tool if understood completely and used properly. The Nature vs. Nurture debate will rate in scientific circles for generations to come. New information is continually forthcoming.
Ongoing studies of identical (humans) twins raised apart, confirm that nature has a strong influence on habits and characteristics. New studies are now claiming to predict shyness and sociability in children based on testing done with infants. (Imagine that!) And the unfortunate orphans from Romania have brought home (literally) the acute consequences when young children are deprived of attention and stimulation at critical ages, striking a significant blow for the nurture side of the argument.
The good news is that, as far as puppies are concerned, the two sides are not so far apart as some folks would like to think. They actually go hand in hand with one another quite comfortably. One enhances the other. More than thirty years ago, guide dog schools had already discovered the benefits of evaluating puppies. And the importance of the so-called "critical periods" in a young dog's life were well-documented in Clarence Pfaffenberger's book. "The New Knowledge of Dog Behavior."

Fact vs Myth

So what can we learn about puppies from early evaluation? Let's begin with some facts, and some clarifications.

FACT: All puppies are not born equal.
This applies to puppies within a litter, too. Just because they share the same pedigree, doesn't make them clones. Any breeder who tells you that all the puppies in a given litter are the same is either ignorant, or trying to con you. Just as brother and sister can differ greatly in families, so do puppies.

MYTH: Warning! This is a test.
Many folks refer to the process as "puppy testing". This misnomer gives the impression that this is a pass/fail exam. The term comes from guide dog schools where they are, in fact, "testing" to weed out prospects not suitable to become guide dogs. In most cases, evaluation is the more correct term. Within one litter of German Shepherd pups, for example, one might be looking for a Schutzhund sport prospect, a police dog, a companion puppy for a family with young children, and a future search and rescue dog. The fact that the best puppy for the family might not be the best potential Schutzhund dog does not mean that this puppy "failed" the test. This puppy just got the opportunity to show everyone where he would best fit in this world. For those folks who object to the standard puppy evaluations because they can be a negative experience for the young puppy, we encourage you to listen to "The Positive Puppy Preview", a kinder, gentler method of evaluation which guarantees a positive experience for the puppy. There is no rolling the puppy over on its back until it screams and fights.

FACT: Most pups are borderline.
This is where the nature/nurture debate takes on real meaning. In the hundreds of puppies we've evaluated, or seen evaluated, we've seen very few extremes. What's an extreme? An extreme in behavior is one that's off the chart, so to speak. So what do we mean by a borderline? We mean a puppy whose initial reactions (nature) can be enhanced or diminished through exposure, socialization, training or other types of behavior modification (nurture).

Identifying Extremes

We've seen a few puppies with such extreme prey drive that we doubt you could extinguish it entirely without doing some damage to the pup's psyche (or body). These are the pups that do not "pass" the guide dog test. Guide dogs must have an extinguishable prey drive. They can't be diving into traffic after a cat. But these same high drive pups can make outstanding sport prospects. Prey drive makes a fine basis for top-level training.
We've seen a few puppies with such incredible retrieve drive (and we're referring to those not in the Retriever breeds), that you can toss any object you want and they'll bring it back to you. And they'll do it over and over and over again. They'll retrieve car keys they can barely carry, metal spoons, and credit cards they have to fight to pick up. If they can pick it up, they'll bring it back - happily! But this persistent drive is rare indeed to exhibit itself so strongly at this tender age (7 to 9 weeks). What we mean by borderline is that most puppies show some inclination to chase and retrieve.
Sure, the exceptional ones might be showing more innate working ability. But in any puppy who shows the inclination, that desire can be built into a functional prey drive or a dynamic retrieve drive. If the dog gets the right drive-building at the right time. Most pups fall into the middle of most categories of Temperament traits. Very few are so shy and scared that they can't be socialized, provided the critical period is not past. Very few are so bold that one or two bad experiences in puppy-hood can't change their mind about being so brave. Very few are so dominant that they can't be taught to respect authority as youngsters. Very few are so submissive that they can't be encouraged to stand up for themselves when given a trusted partner to show them how, and back them up. Very few have so much fight drive that they can't be shown what is appropriate behavior, as long as it is done at an early age. These are puppies. They are sponges. They bring their own individual traits to the equation, but as they learn and grow, their behavior can be channeled in the right direction. Temperament doesn't change. But behavior is always flux and so can almost always be modified and changed.

So Why Evaluate?

Haven't we just blown out of the water any reason for doing any sort of temperament evaluation on young puppies? Absolutely not. To us, we have just demonstrated even more clearly the value of evaluation Why? The value is not only in placing each pup in the right situation to fulfill his potential. The value is also in compensation. When you know what the puppy's nature is, then you know what you need to compensate for. In placing puppies, the value is in knowing where the nurture will best suit the nature. In compensation, the value is in identifying the nature that needs a little special nurture. Evaluation and compensation is a two-way street that works to the great benefit of both puppy and owner.

Compensation

For example, one of the elements of most standard puppy evaluations is elevation. The person picks the puppy up with both hands underneath his stomach and holds him a few inches off the floor for about 30 seconds. Most puppies show middle-of-the road responses. They struggle a little, then settle, then struggle. The vocal ones tend to grunt or whimper or whine, but most accept this quickly and easily. But a few puppies really fight the elevation. A few go rigid. A few try to clamp onto the person's hands. A few tremble. A few panic. And a few fight like hell and scream bloody murder. (This can be protest, not fear.) For the few who really show fear, some of them are simply afraid of heights. Once you have identified this rare trait, it is very easy to compensate Over the next few days, place the pup on anything high that is solid and stable - picnic tables, grooming tables, stone walls, etc, and offer his really good tidbits of food. Be sure he's hungry and put the little pieces of food in front of him, right on the table. Refrain from petting and praising the pup, or otherwise reassuring him, while he is still showing fear responses. Sit next to him, but leave him alone. At first, if he really is afraid of heights, he'll get pretty rigid and worried, and might not eat the food. But just wait until he relaxes and starts to look around and show interest in the food. Eventually, true to his wonderful inquisitive, adaptable, puppy nature, he'll start to explore. Be sure to prevent him from any negative experience, like slipping or falling off! (Puppy raising is about exposure with protection) do this for short periods of time, just a minute or two, on tables in a variety of places, when the pup is hungry. Pick this puppy up a lot and put him on your lap (while you still can, if he is a large breed puppy). We've never seen a puppy who didn't get over this fear completely within a few days of the right experiences. By the time he goes to a new home, he can be completely comfortable in high places, and in fact seek them out because they have become places associated with high positive reinforcement.

A Breeder's Tool

Let's now consider the benefits of puppy evaluation from the breeder's point of view. Most breeders adopt a "Wait and See" attitude about selecting their breeding stock. This may be valuable for conformation, although most puppies manifest their actual structure quite clearly at 7-1/2 weeks old. Waiting is definitely necessary to determine any genetic weaknesses, such as problems with hips, thyroid, vision, epilepsy, etc. However, waiting to see how the pup turns out is the wrong attitude to take toward temperament. Puppies never lie. They don't know how to "fake it". And they can't pretend to be what they are not. Much of what they bring genetically to the equation is evident at eight weeks old, if you take the time to look for it and if you let them show you. For example, let's just take one particular trait. German Shepherds can have problems walking on certain types of footings, especially slippery floors. When you evaluate puppies in a new place at such a young age, a puppy with this hang-up almost always shows it clearly. But, like fear of heights, this trait is often very easy to disguise. Once you identify it, just expose the pup within the next few days to lots of different footings and associate it with positive experiences. Put the puppy in to play with a sibling (who doesn't care about slippery footings) on a tile floor. Instead of feeding the pup in a bowl, scatter its food and let it roam around and vacuum up the little pieces of food. Soon the pup is willing and eager to negotiate strange surfaces because of the exposure and confidence-building. By the time the pup becomes a young adult, the disguise job can be complete. Now, should this dog be considered for breeding? The breeder must remember that this is still only a disguise job. Had the right compensation not been done at the right time, this adult dog would remain insecure on slippery footing for his entire life. You've modified the behavior, but have you changed the temperament? The answer is "No". This puppy is likely to produce pups (and grandpups) with the same "hole" in their temperament. So might its siblings, because they carry the same genetic material, but the chance is more likely that the one manifesting the trait will surely pass it along. So if a breeder is truly trying to "improve" the line, this puppy has clearly identified an undesirable trait, a "hole" in its temperament. For a breeder to know what they are producing, puppy evaluation is essential. Seeing what kind of a "disguise job" the owners or trainers have done with the dog by two years of age is no substitute for knowing what the dog actually came with. This works in the opposite direction, too.

Who Brought What?

For example, let's say one of the pups goes off to an excellent trainer as a Schutzhund prospect. The youngster has workable drives and this trainer builds each one to its highest level at just the right time. Retrieve drive is weak, but the trainer is good enough to teach a functional exercise. The dog becomes a winner. The breeder no doubt decides it is the best breeding prospect. While this dog might have pretty good credentials by now, it might not have been the pup with the highest drives. Let's say the one with the insatiable retrieve drive and extreme prey drive ended up going to a young married couple who "intended" to work the dog but never quite got around to it. That pup got returned at 18 months old. The only training it ever got was punishment for carrying inappropriate objects in its mouth. And it got beaten up for mouthing people's arms, which caused the owners to stop taking it places and socialising it before it was five months old.
The poor dog might well come back something if a basket-case. But proper puppy evaluation might have shown it as the best prospect for breeding, the best chance of increasing prey and retrieve drive from that litter. If you never look, then the pups can't show you who they are and what they bring to the nature part of the equation.

A Purchaser's Tool

The above example also clarifies why any prospective purchaser should investigate puppy evaluation. The excellent trainer would have been much better off investing time and talent and energy in a pup who came with high drives, rather than working so hard to build mediocre drive. One thing that is easy to identify using "The Positive Puppy Preview" method is whether the pup has high drive for working and whether those drives will overcome stress. This is actually one of the greatest values of this new technique. The poor young couple in the above scenario would certainly have been happier with a low drive, co-operative pet dog. Selling buyers with wrong dog is not only the major cause of returns (for responsible breeders who actually take their dogs back), but also probably the greatest cause of purebred dogs landing in shelters. Finding out what kind of temperament each puppy has is the best way to determine which puppy should go where. It's also the best tool for breeders to select their future breeding stock. And it's the only sure way to identify those areas where each puppy's nature needs a little help on the nurture side to develop that dog's full potential.

Social & Stable: The Standard

Whatever the breed, stability and sociability should be basic requirements for acceptable temperament. These two traits are easily identified right at the start of our evaluation. Making excuses of puppies who lack confidence and are hesitant around people is unethical, no matter how much drive they might exhibit. Working dogs need to be confident, social and stable. Period. Training a dog to bite when it is afraid is an accident waiting to happen. Remember, you might be able to train the behavior but you are not changing the temperament. Giving the puppy a chance to show you who he is, and what he can do, is only fair. Placing him in the right situation where he can be appreciated, and be successful, is an obligation. Developing his strengths and helping him overcome his fears makes for happy dogs and satisfied owners. And evaluating puppies is the best key to better breeding.