If you have read our website, you know that we do temperament testing at 7 weeks to determine the characteristics and traits of the puppies in order to match them to their suitable homes.
Often we are asked what traits we are looking for to identify a working puppy.
Working puppies have these key traits,
- confident
- independent
- NOT human dominant, possibly slightly submissive
- responsible
- NOT pain sensitive
- alert to sounds, investigate
- alert/watchful of surroundings
- investigative
- medium-high energy
That is not to say that there are not pet suitable puppies who don't also have these traits, but, most working puppies can be pets, not all pets can be working.
We have further break downs of what traits puppies possess that make them suitable for homes with young children or older adults, as well.
This is just to give everyone an idea of why we wait until we do our temperament testing - we have a general idea of the puppies' personalities from handling them and watching them grow, but this is a standardized test process that enables us to reach beyond, and see how they react with strangers (we are in truth, just Mom and Dad, so they are much more confident and easy going around us) and new situations. It is with temperament testing that we can feel confident selecting a puppy for its new home.
