. An experienced person will generally make his judgments based on the physical appearance of the dog, the health status, and condition of the individual or the whole litter. And then, here it comes the following question: How well can someone assess the characteristics and the health of a dog during short buying that typically lasts only 15-30 min? Who should help the breeder to choose the puppy for further breeding so we can get the right representative of its breed? Those are just some of many questions every future owner/ breeder has in front of himself. In order to help both of them, we enclose the original test of puppy’s character test.

Campbell’s method

The test primarily refers to working dog breeds and was compiled on the basis of a long-term testing by Campbell, so the method itself is called "Campbell's method of testing the natural basis of the puppy’s character." Testing by using this kind of method can give an almost complete picture of the character of the future dog under the condition of correct testing and normal conditions of pupil development and growth with the new owner. Puppies get tested at the age of 5 - 7 weeks, at the end of the socialization period, and we do this in a separate room outside the litter, without the influence of their mother or other dogs. Taking puppies from the litter, testing and returning puppies to litters should be done by a breeder, or a person familiar with puppies and their mother, in order to avoid unwanted harassment. The entire test consists five parts:

1. Social attraction

2. Facility to follow

3. Response to obligation

4. Social domination

5. Acceptance to be lifted

1.  Social attraction

We place the puppy on the ground, move away from him in the opposite direction from the one we came from, kneel and slowly weave our hands to attract his attention. You should observe how the puppy approaches- whether with a raised or lowered tail, or not moving at all. This test reveals our puppy's sense of socializing, trust and autonomy. Puppy should show the following reactions to the test:

a) Approaches joyfully with a raised tail, jumps and ‘bites’ examiner’s hands

b) Approaches freely with a raised tail, lifts, and waves with the paw towards the direction of our hand

c) Approaches freely, but with a lowered tail

d) Doesn’t approach at all

2. Facility to follow

When examining the facility to follow, here is the procedure: Stand beside the puppy and then go away with a normal step. You should pay attention to its ability to follow the breeder and how it goes towards him. If it doesn’t follow him, we conclude that it is an independent puppy. It's important that the puppy sees you when you are away. Puppy’s reactions to the test should be:

a) Follows us joyfully with raised tail, trying to bite his feet (shoes, shorts, etc.)

b) Follows us joyfully with a raised tail, goes by the leg.

c) Follows us joyfully with a dropped tail.

d) Follows us unlikely with a dropped tail

e) Does not follow us or even move away

3. Response to obligation

Place the puppy on the ground and turn it on its back by gently holding it with one hand on its chest for 30 seconds. His reaction to defense or acceptance of position tells you about the tendency to accept physical and social domination. Puppy’s reaction to the test should be:

a) Vigorously fights, defends and bites

b) Vigorously fights

c) It fights and then slackens

d) Doesn’t want to move and licks hands

4. Social domination

Place the puppy on the ground lying on its belly, and gently pet it from the top of its head to the end of its back. Its behavior should express the acceptance or rejection of social domination. The puppy is dominant if it tries to jump to the breeder, growls, and bites, while the independent type of a puppy will try to get out and move away. Puppy’s reaction to the test should be:

a)     The puppy has jumped, strikes with a paw, bites, and growls

b)     The puppy has jumped and strikes with a paw

c)      The puppy buckles and licks examiner’s hands

d)     The puppy rolled over on its back and licks examiner’s hands

e)      The puppy moved away and doesn’t want to return

 

5. Acceptance to be lifted

Raise the puppy gently above the ground so that it can lie on your palms while your fingers are crossed under his belly. Hold it for 30 seconds. With this test, the puppy loses all control of the situation and it’s left to the mercy of the examiner. Depending on its reaction, it's easy to determine whether the dog accepted your domination or not. Reaction to the test:

a) Twitches energetically, bites and growls

b) Twitches strongly

c) First twitches, then calms down and licks examiner’s hands

d) Doesn’t twitch, stands still and licks examiner’s hands.

 

 

Test results

If you have chosen reactions under the letter "A" two or more times, and the rest you have chosen the letter "B", it is a puppy of aggressive reactions with a natural basis to develop into a dog of strong character. If you train ‘hard’ that kind of a dog, you need to know it’s willing to bite. You should train it cautiously and 

a)     The puppy has jumped, strikes with a paw, bites, and growls

b)     The puppy has jumped and strikes with a paw

c)      The puppy buckles and licks examiner’s hands

d)     The puppy rolled over on its back and licks examiner’s hands

e)      The puppy moved away and doesn’t want to return

 

5. Acceptance to be lifted

Raise the puppy gently above the ground so that it can lie on your palms while your fingers are crossed under his belly. Hold it for 30 seconds. With this test, the puppy loses all control of the situation and it’s left to the mercy of the examiner. Depending on its reaction, it's easy to determine whether the dog accepted your domination or not. Reaction to the test:

a) Twitches energetically, bites and growls

b) Twitches strongly

c) First twitches, then calms down and licks examiner’s hands

d) Doesn’t twitch, stands still and licks examiner’s hands.

 

 

Test results

If you have chosen reactions under the letter "A" two or more times, and the rest you have chosen the letter "B", it is a puppy of aggressive reactions with a natural basis to develop into a dog of strong character. If you train ‘hard’ that kind of a dog, you need to know it’s willing to bite. You should train it cautiously and 

a)     The puppy has jumped, strikes with a paw, bites, and growls

b)     The puppy has jumped and strikes with a paw

c)      The puppy buckles and licks examiner’s hands

d)     The puppy rolled over on its back and licks examiner’s hands

e)      The puppy moved away and doesn’t want to return

 

5. Acceptance to be lifted

Raise the puppy gently above the ground so that it can lie on your palms while your fingers are crossed under his belly. Hold it for 30 seconds. With this test, the puppy loses all control of the situation and it’s left to the mercy of the examiner. Depending on its reaction, it's easy to determine whether the dog accepted your domination or not. Reaction to the test:

a) Twitches energetically, bites and growls

b) Twitches strongly

c) First twitches, then calms down and licks examiner’s hands

d) Doesn’t twitch, stands still and licks examiner’s hands.

 

 

Test results

         If you have chosen reactions under the letter "A" two or more times, and the rest you have chosen the letter "B", it is a puppy of aggressive reactions with a natural basis to develop into a dog of strong character. If you train ‘hard’ that kind of a dog, you need to know it’s willing to bite. You should train it cautiously and without the physical force. It will be a good watchdog in a calm environment of adult people, but we don’t recommend it to families with children and elderly people.

1. If you have chosen the reaction of the puppy under the letter "b" three or more times, it is a psychologically stable puppy which has a natural basis to develop into a dog with the tendency to properly dominate. It’s suitable for education and competitions, but we don’t recommend it to families with small children.
2. If you have chosen three or more times the puppy's reactions under the letter "c", we conclude that it has a natural basis to develop into a dog that is able to adapt to every kind of environment. It is especially suitable for families with children and for elderly people.
3. If you have chosen the pup's reaction under the letter "d" two or more times, in combination with the reaction under the letter "e" one or more times, you‘ve got a dog with an excessive dose of subordination. It’s going to become a dog of a soft character and with a large need for praise and flattery. It is necessary to raise it with love, in order to get involved in the human environment and to become self-aware. It gets along well with the children, and bites only in case of excessive torture, only for the purpose of defense.
4. If you have chosen two or more reactions under the letter "d" in combination with the letter "e" in part 4 of the "Social Domination” test, you have got a puppy that is hardly socializing despite the special type of education. It has a natural basis for development into a dog of timid character. If you have chosen more reactions under the letter ‘a’, it can happen that this type of dog bites the owner from fear. If you have chosen more answers under the letters ‘c’, it’s a dog with fearful reactions at the slightest pressure. This type of dog is not recommended for families with children.
5. If you have chosen the reactions under the letters "a" and "e" mixed, we recommend a re-test. In case you get the same result, that type of a puppy has a natural basis to develop into a dog of unpredictable character and will have unpredictable reactions.

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