Temperament Tests: What Does the Science Say? Meghan E. Herron, DVM, DACVB Behavioral Medicine Clinic The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center Why temperament test? Assess adoptability Determine public safety risks Identify problems that can be improved Determine emotional stability Can this dog handle a lengthy shelter stay? Points to consider for adoptability of temperament test Will someone want to adopt this dog? How many similar dogs currently on adoption floor? Any issues that require special screening? How will dog respond to shelter life? Any means of improving adoptability? What are resources of shelter? Other factors to consider Previous owner history o Always available? o Always accurate (Segurson 2005) Bite history o Reported o Severity o Context Interactions with staff Interactions with other dogs in shelter Temperament test shortcomings Snap shot of personality Environmental influences o Presence of barking dogs o Unfamiliar handlers o Unfamiliar smells/odors/pheromones Influence of stress o May both inhibit and exaggerate behaviors Health status o Emaciated dogs and resource guarding? o Sick dogs appear docile? Evaluator shortcomings Evaluator bias o Breed
o Size o Patience levels? Evaluator reliability o Same results among different testers? Dangerous for evaluators Temperament test dilemma When to test? Novel environments increases stress Stress can lead to inhibition or exaggeration of behaviors Stress remain high for first 3 days Temperament Tests ASPCA/MATCH UP II Dr. Amy Marder SAFER TM Meet Your Match TM Assess-A-Pet TM Basic test structure Cage behavior Sociability Handleability Resource guarding Response to unfamiliar people Dog-dog interactions Interactions with cats Response to children (doll?) Objectively observe each, record, and make plan for change Cage behavior Cage is where most dogs will meet potential adopters Is behavior appealing? Fearful? Obnoxious? Dangerous? Sociability Approach evaluator? Response to verbal and physical attention? Avoidance/indifference? o Poor adoptability Fearful? Inappropriate attention-seeking behaviors? o Jumping, mouthing, pawing, mounting? Handleability
Mimic real-life interactions o Can I hug you? o Can I touch your feet? o What is in your mouth? o What a nice tail? o Do you have an ear infection? o Observe and record and potential red flags Resource guarding Really pushing it here! Toys Food bowl o Dry food? Canned food? Rawhide chew Assess-A-Hand typically used for safety Interactions with strangers Sudden entrance into a room o Startle? o Initial fear, then friendliness? o Avoidance? o Aggression? Dog-dog interactions Pay attention to sexual status of animals o Testing two intact males not appropriate o Testing intact male with in heat female not appropriate o Best to start with easy dogs Loose leash, safe interactions, skilled handlers Interactions with cats Cat safety first! o Need a confident, dog-savvy cat Cat in cage Dog on leash, cat loose Red flags: o Hyper-focusing/staring/intense, exaggerated interest in cat (predatory) o Stalking, pouncing, attempts to chase (predatory) o Barking, growling, snarling (fear) Interactions with children Life-sized doll Response to child or novel object? Test validation - What have the studies shown? Behavioural testing of dogs in animal shelters to predict problem behaviour van der Borg J. et al. 1991 Applied Animal Behaviour Science
1.5 hr test for aggression, fear, obedience, separation anxiety, and misc problems Also interviewed staff attendant on each dog s behavior Contacted owners between 1-2 months post-adoption Compared results of test and staff opinion Test predicted ¾ potential problems correctly Jumping 100% correct, barking 90%, aggression to adults 90%, pulling on leash 90% Staff predicted 1/3 potential problems correctly Less than 50% predictive of resource guarding Interestingly, none of the owners of dogs reporting aggression over food or bones considered this to be a problem Ethotest: A new model to identify (shelter) dogs skills as service animals or adoptable pets Lucidi P. et al. 2005 Applied Animal Behaviour Science Designed to select service dogs from a shelter dog population Series of tests A, B, and C if dog failed any part, failed test Tests Test A: Aggressiveness to people and dogs, response to soft and harsh manipulation Test B: Initiative, sociability to people, fear response to startling stimuli Test C: Aptitude for training 6 out of 23 dogs passed All 6 were successful service dogs at 14 month follow up point Is this realistic for a shelter setting? Perhaps a less stringent version? Aggressive behavior in adopted dogs that passed a temperament test Christensen, E., et al. 2006 Applied Animal Behaviour Science Tested dogs with modified Sue Sternberg temperament test Contacted 67 owners who adopted dogs that passed test, 13 months later Total % showing aggression: o 41% exhibited lunging, growling, snapping or biting after adoption o That number jumps to 71% if include barking Territorial aggression seems especially difficult to predict Owner-directed aggression had a better negative predictive value Behavioral evaluation and demographic information in the assessment of aggressiveness in shelter dogs Bollen, K., Horowitz, J. 2007 Applied Animal Behaviour Science 543 owners of dogs who passed a temperament test (Sternberg 2003) Contacted 6 months post-adoption Passing dogs classified as o No-issue : no behaviors of concern displayed o Unsocial : failed sociability portion, but passed others o Borderine : mild aggression (growl/stiff) during one component of test 92% reported no aggression
Borderline classification was significantly correlated with return to shelter for aggression Unsocial classification was significantly correlated with behavior problems (non-aggressive) (36%) 6% of no-issue dogs had displayed aggression; 18% displayed other problems The addition of the temperament test reduced return rate from 19% to 14% Also reduced return rate for aggression from 5% to 3.5% Potentially a good predictor for aggressive behavior? Should borderline dogs be adopted out? Shelter dog behavioral assessments: Behavioral coding and personality Marder, A., Dowling-Guyer, S., 2010 Abstract: Journal of Veterinary Behavior MATCH-UP Behavior Evaluation Behavior objectively measured during 11 scenario sub-tests (leash manners, handling, training, etc.) 668 dogs over 3 years found these 11 tests to be stable over time Still collecting data to validate test More information www.centerforshelterdogs.org Download evaluation manual See full video Temperament tests for puppies? Wilsson & Sundgren 1997 tested German Shepherd puppies o Not predictive of adult behavior Hennessy et al. 2001 tested puppies and adolescent dogs o Dogs who approached a toy car and quickly investigated a loud air horn had a higher correlation with behavior problems 2 weeks post-adoption o No validated puppy temperament test! Final remarks No test is 100% reliable Adoptability will vary depending on shelter o Open door vs. limited admission o Aggression? Separation anxiety? o Medical illness? o Return record? New adopter education is critical, regardless of test results Rarely a black and white decision References Bollen, K., Horowitz, J. Behavioral evaluation and demographic information in the assessment of aggressiveness in shelter dogs Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2007. Christensen, E., et al. Aggressive behavior in adopted dogs that passed a temperament test Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2006;106:85-95. Hennessy M, et al. Plasma cortisol levels of dogs at a county animal shelter Physiology and Behavior 1997;62:485-490. Lucidi P. et al. Ethotest: A new model to identify (shelter) dogs skills as service animals or adoptable pets Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2005; 95:103-122. Marder, A., Dowling-Guyer, S. Shelter dog behavioral assessments: Behavioral coding and personality Journal of Veterinary Behavior (Abstract) 2010:27.
Miller L, Zawistowski S. Shelter Medicine for Veterinarians and Staff eds Lila Miller and Stephen Zawistowski Blackwell Pub: Ames, Iowa, 2004. Sternberg, S. 2003 Successful Dog Adoption. Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, IN: 99-137. van der Borg J. et al. Behavioural testing of dogs in animal shelters to predict problem behaviour Applied Animal Behaviour Science 1991;;32:237-251. Wilsson E, Sundgren P. Behaviour test for eight-week old puppies heritabilities of tested behaviour traits and its correspondence to later behaviour Applied Animal Behaviour Science 1997;58:151-162. www.centerforshelterdogs.org