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| Rosie - Creekwood’s Sunshine and Roses, FDC, BCAT, FITB, ATT |
We were at a recent dog show, waiting to bring our smooth, ZuZu, into the Herding group, and noticed they were holding the AKC Temperament Test at the show. Since we had a few hours to wait, we decided to sign our Rosie up to take the test. As collies are known for their sweet, gentle temperaments, I was pretty certain she would do well. But we had never done the temperament test before, so I was curious to see what the test involved.
The AKC provides the following description of the test:
The AKC Temperament Test (ATT) was developed to bring focus and provide a meaningful evaluation to assess the temperament of our canine companions.
The ATT tests how a dog reacts to a variety of stimuli. Desirable traits are that the dog will be emotionally stable, inquisitive, cooperative, appropriately social for its breed, biddable and demonstrates the ability to recover from a startling situation in a reasonable amount of time.
Undesirable traits are fear, shyness, lack of cooperation and an inability to recover from unfamiliar or unexpected situations. Examples of undesirable behaviors include being afraid of friendly strangers or unfamiliar stimuli, obsessive barking, and aggression.
In the ATT, dogs are tested in 6 categories of stimuli that include:
- Social
- Auditory
- Visual
- Tactile
- Proprioceptive (motion)
- Unexpected stimulus
To obtain the ATT title, Rosie had to do the test twice, under two different evaluators. They tested her reactions to the following:
Social - the evaluator greets the handler, and then pets Rosie, then does a brief exam of Rosie. Then another individual approaches Rosie carrying a large bag and also pets Rosie.
Auditory - the evaluator observes Rosie’s reaction to someone shaking a container full of coins, a vacuum cleaner being turned on, and a bike horn.
Visual - the evaluator observes Rosie’s reaction to someone opening an umbrella, walking around her with a roller bag, while waving a streamer.
Tactile - the evaluator observes Rosie walking over a wire grate, plastic and a pegboard
Proprioceptive - the evaluator observes Rosie walking over low bars, intersecting hoops and a low platform.
Unexpected stimulus - the evaluator observes Rosie as an individual approaches her using crutches, observes her reaction to someone dropping a chair behind her, and approaching Rosie with a large object. (stuffed animal)
To pass Rosie had to remain calm and confident. She could startle at some of the stimuli, but had to recover quickly. (Less than 5 seconds) Rosie passed all the elements of the test, under both evaluators, earning her the ATT title. I thought it was interesting that some of the elements, like walking over different surfaces and her reaction to noise, were similar to the Farm dog test and other elements were similar to the Canine Good Citizen test. It was also interesting to watch as other dog breeds tried the test, and which elements they refused to complete. Before attempting the test the evaluators did have everyone look up the standard for their individual breeds, and write it on the test application. By having us write the description on the form, the evaluators knew what was expected for each dog breed. For the collie the AKC standard had the perfect description. “The collie is intelligent, friendly, devoted, loving, sensitive and easily trained.” Rosie definitely fits that description perfectly!
You can find your dog breed’s temperament description here. And if you are interested in trying out the AKC temperament test, you can find where it’s being offered by searching here. Below is a short video of Rosie taking the test.
