Temperment Test Question...

[hey21jude]

I read in the sports section that there is going to be a temperment test held about 45 min. from where I live. I read through the test in the sticky posted in this section.

Failure on any part of the test is recognized when a dog shows:

Unprovoked aggression
Panic without recovery
Strong avoidance

So does this mean that when we greet neutral/friendly strangers, if my dog doesn't stay by my side, jumps on said stranger, wiggles and licks them to death, it would be considered passing?

And I assume that during the part where unsusal person comes at us he would be allowed to show some sort of aggression towards them?

I'm just a bit confused about what is considered pass/fail for this test. They make it sound like as long as oyu dog doesn't bite some one/ have a panic attack they will pass? It can't be that easy can it?

I would love to test Dexter and he is old enough. IF I can get the day off and IF I get one of the spots that are left I think I would do it.
Any advice from those who have tested their dogs?

[pitbullmamaliz]

Yes, it really is that easy. Inara jumped all over the testers (in a friendly way) and passed with decent scores. The only thing she barely passed was the aggressive stranger test because she DID NOT seem threatened by him and did not do anything. She glanced at him and then found the grass more interesting. But seriously, you only have to get 1 point out of 10 on each test to pass. Super easy! I was very nervous, and then kinda disappointed at just how easy it was.

[pocketpit]

I was under the impression that the score your dog recieves on any given test is partially based on what would be considered an ideal response for your particular breed. For instance my Malinois acting agressive to a threat from the stranger would not be unusual while it would be for a Sheltie. If your Sheltie chose to stand by your side and observe the threat but did not have a panic attack then you would still get a solid score. Like I said, this was just how it was explained to me but that was quite a long time ago. There are people on here with more experience than I.
I do know if your dog panics and does not recover it will fail and if it acts aggressive in any situation other than the threat or strange behavior from the stranger it will get failed.
I've only had three dogs tested with ATTS and one through a local German Shepherd club's TT. so I am certainly not an expert.

[pitbullmamaliz]

That's how it is supposed to be done. However, the chief judge at my test deducted points from Inara because she "wasn't a good guard dog." (his exact words) Apparently he didn't study the chapter where it says pits are not known for their guardian skills.

[mnp13]

I was under the impression that the score your dog recieves on any given test is partially based on what would be considered an ideal response for your particular breed.

That's how it's supposed to work, and they are also supposed to take into account the dog's training.

At the test that I brought Ruby and Connor to an American Bulldog was was trained as a "Professional Personal Protection Dog" took a h-u-g-e stress poop before the first station and then turned sideways to the threatening stranger and ignored him. There is no way that dog should have passed

For instance my Malinois acting agressive to a threat from the stranger would not be unusual while it would be for a Sheltie. If your Sheltie chose to stand by your side and observe the threat but did not have a panic attack then you would still get a solid score.

that's the same way it was explained to me.

[pitbullmamaliz]

Here's a couple threads I had done re: Inara and the TT. The first is about the actual test process and how she responded to each situation:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=16457

The next is how she was scored for those:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=19278

[hey21jude]

Wow ok, so that's really all there is to it huh? Well I think we could pass then! I'm gonna try to work something out with my boss tomorrow to get the day off.

Two more questions... I read through the enrtry form and it says nothing about bringing along vaccination records or anything to prove the age of your dog. I suppose I should bring it anyways. But do they just trust the owners?

And, If I say that Dexter is an APBT mix (because he is), rather than pure bred, will his pass/fail count towards the Stats for APBTs, even though he's not pure bred?

[pitbullmamaliz]

I think they have a column for mixed-breeds. And I didn't bring any vacc records or proof of her age. Just filled out the form and away we went.

[Leslie H]

Hi, it's Leslie, I met you and Dexter (yep, that's me, I pulled over and was a busybody because I saw someone working their apbt) a week or so ago.
I'm an ATTS provisional tester. Dexter would certainly pass the neutral and friendly stranger parts of the test if he acts like he did when I met him. I believe they record mixed breeds as mixed breeds. You can certainly get away with calling him an apbt.

[hey21jude]

Hi Leslie! Glad to see(read) you! Yes I remember you and no you were not being a busybody. It was nice to talk to someone(face to face) about pits and have them appreciate what I'm doing. Most people just look at me like I'm a crazy person!
Glad to hear he would at least pass part of the test. I think we'd do OK for the other parts too. As long as I'm with him, he doesn't go into "panic mode". I would love to sign him up as an APBT just to get another passed test for the stats(If we pass).
Thanks again for all the info guys!

[amazincc]

Hey... GOOD LUCK!!!!

[hey21jude]

Well I got the day off! So now I'm just waiting to hear back from them to make sure there is still room for us. Forms filled out and ready to go in the mail! Akkk.....now I'm nervous!

[Leslie H]

I think there will probably be spots, because most people can't get the day off.

[lilabet]

Hey, if you get in I'll see you there. I got entered with my Rottie, Maia, so we'll be taking the test, too.

[hey21jude]

Cool! I sent in my enrtry form yesterday and they told me there were 10 spots left so I should be fine. I'll see you there!