[Panda]

Hi guys,

Here are a tonne of videos of my puppy Panda as 5 and a half weeks old (first 2) and 6 and a half weeks old.

I wanted peoples opinions on his temperament.

In the first 2 he is very shy (probably as he had just been dropped by my boyfriend)

in the rest he is 6 and a half weeks old, he is nervous to begin with, recoiling at my boyfriends hand at one point but comes out of his shell after about 10 minutes and plays a bit more vigorously. He is never as confident as the other puppies though.

Anyway, do you think he will be able to outgrow he shy tendencies with careful handling? or is he is likely to be a dog who always is shy and wont greet new people?

5 and a half weeks old

6 and a half weeks old (in the order they were taken)

 

[wishpoo]

I did not have the time to go through videos - but I can tell you one thing - only professional trainer or another trained person can perform a temperament test on the puppy and tell with certainty how your puppy rates.

Puppy needs to be about 7 weeks old, taken out of the familiar room and spend time one -on-one with a stranger performing different tasks.

Whatever inborn temperament the puppy have - he/she will ALWAYS have it. You can modify it with a lot of work but you will never have a super confident puppy if it is born super shy and other way around.

Now , many people will testify that they got a super shy dog from a rescue and made it very friendly and calm - but first - that dog is never going to be AS friendly and calm as a dog that was born with outgoing temperament, and second - it requires a LOT of patience and work to make it just a "normal" dog.Still, in unusual situations that rehabilitated shy dog will again have a tendency to revert in his/her behavior even with all of that training.

Since you are looking for a "performance" dog - I would strongly recommend
professional evaluation.

Best of luck : )

 

[Marian]

If that's your BF talking in some of those videos, I can understand why the dog would be a little timid with him. He's loud and sometimes abrupt, which can be startling, especially to a very young puppy. How do dogs or cats usually react to him?

I agree with what Wishpoo wrote, but you can probably tell a lot about his true nature by comparing how he behaves around the BF with how he behaves when he (or anyone who is loud, for that matter) is not around.

Panda is very cute though. I love his markings.

 

[Panda]

Hi, thanks for the replies,

yeah that is my boyfriend, he is quite loud, I have told him to be quiet and gentle with the puppies but have no luck getting through to him. He is fine with older dogs and cats (never seen him with a puppy other than visiting Panda though).

Well Panda flinched with Steve to begin with but after a few minutes he calmed down, I guess we will just have to work on his confidence, he is sooooo much better than last week so fingers crossed he keeps getting more and more confident although I doubt he will ever be an extraordinarily outgoing dog, hopefully we can get him confident enough to enjoy new surroundings.

 

[debjen]

Cute puppies..my 4 dogs are all different in temperment and one is retired but the other 3 all do performance work...mainly agility..the one that I thought was most outgoing and brave as a puppy probably has the most insecurity..tho he can be a good agility dog he does tend to stress the most ..licking his crate bars running around the ring when he gets stressed..the dog that I thought was the most insecure..running to his crate at a harsh word..would take toys and things under the futon so he could be by himself ... when we started agility he would take an obstacle and run to me to check to make sure he did it okay..he will probably be passing his year older brother this year in agility..they are currently equal in titles ... Flyer the youngest and the poodle has always preferred going up to people .. if people come up to him he will back off and maybe even growl a little..yet if you let him come up to you he be in your lap licking your face in nothing flat..he is already doing great in agility...he is not competing yet (he's only 16 months old) but will be by summer more than likely. .. while temperment testing is good I don't know that things always turn out they way you think ....

 

[Panda]

Yeah that's what I think, They can be a good start but do not tell the whole story, we will have to see what happens as Panda gets older, If he isn't a great film dog he will still be a great pet. He came out of his shell pretty quickly today and I think he will do well with good socialisation.

 

[wishpoo]

one that I thought was most outgoing and brave as a puppy probably has the most insecurity..

Was he tested for temperament - or you just made your assessment by observing him during the visit ?:rolffleyes:

 

[debjen]

Was he tested for temperament - or you just made your assessment by observing him during the visit ?:rolffleyes:

He was not tested for temperment..just my observation from multiple visits of him and his brother (only 2 pups in the litter)..and the breeders observation

 

[Paris-London]

I feel like puppies should stay with their parent until AT THE VERY LEAST 8 weeks, but preferably 10 weeks old, even a large dog such as a standard.

Its a big strike to their confidence to be taken from their home so young, pretty traumatizing, especially if you don't know what you are doing when it comes to socializing them. Breeders usually know what they are doing as far as socialization, and the mom dog can help the most with helping the puppies feel secure with new things.

 

[Panda]

Panda will be 8 weeks old when we get him.

 

[wishpoo]

He was not tested for temperment..just my observation from multiple visits of him and his brother (only 2 pups in the litter)..and the breeders observation

That is what I am trying to convey - only a complete and correct temperament testing performed under certain conditions and by a professional or trained person can be accurate.

Just by observing puppies one can get some general idea, but NOT accurate assessment.

Also - even a breeder can not be absolutely accurate in prediction since puppy knows breeder and of course will not exhibit shyness or dominance at such a young age.

Smart breeders call their handlers, trainers or fellow breeders to perform an official temperament test on their puppies which constitutes of the whole series of tests and observations and numerical "grading" .

PS: You might want to look at this http://www.workingdogs.com/testing_volhard.htm

- this is future "dream dog" for example

 

[KalaMama]

Kala was very, very timid. (did not want anything to do with us for a while). Her brothers and sisters were very playful and ready to go, but she was not at all. Now, she is very outgoing even with strangers but does have a little timidity from time to time, but as long as she gets used to something she is okay. She is a completely different puppy from when we picked her up at 10 weeks of age. I would not worry about it too much unless you want the most boisterous puppy in the litter. Kala is very well socialized now and loves attention from anyone(she is 10 months now and gets better every month). Also, plan on him being that way when you get him home. I have to admit I was very dissappointed when I first got Kala because I felt like she didn't like me at all. She would prefer to be in another room and did not care to be touched. I just had to tell myself that she was my dog and that things would get better. Well, I just got up from taking a nap on the couch with Kala as my pillow I think, in a way, sometimes the more timid ones have an extra bond to their human and make you "work for their love". I guess I am sort of talking in circles here, but I will end in saying that if I had to do it again I would pick Kala over the other puppies in a heartbeat

 

[KPoos]

Oh that border collie was fabulous. I did this same test with Mia right when I brought her home from having flown in from AZ. She didn't know me from anyone and had been removed from her home and she still performed just like this puppy in the video. That's when I knew I had made a good choice temperament wise for my puppy.

 

[Panda]

know Panda doesn't like noise as he didn't even like the noise of the squeaker in the dog toy but he did go up to it after he stopped to listen, however he has heard that noise before and is getting used to it... I guess we will have to see what he is like when we get him home.

I have had one person who has told me he seems dominant yet fearful and has no need to human contact which worried me though...

 

[Poodlicious]

How old is Panda now? Does your breeder intend to do formal temperament testing on the litter? I have read it's best done as close to 49 days old as you can. Given that you have a specific job you'd like this dog to do, I would highly recommend having formal temperament testing done. I wanted to be as sure as possible the dog we got was compatible for our family. Imo, formal temperament testing completed by a trained person is the only way to really get a good idea of your puppy's personality tendencies before you get them.
We have two boys aged six and three. There was no way we would have taken a puppy home without having some idea of some of his personality traits. We obviously can't have a dog with dominance issues or one who is too timid. Our breeder did have an experienced handler do the testing on the litter. I have to say the results showed on his temperament test at 49 days are very true to his personality at 10 weeks.

Good Luck with your decision!

 

[Panda]

Panda is 6 and a half weeks old in the videos here. The breeder doesn't do temperament testing and I don't know of any proffesional who is qualified to do temperament testing either over here. He is very good at being handled and tollerates it very well. I think his main problem is new noises. He is intended to work yes but it's not the end of the world if he can't, he will be a much loved pet first and foremost.

It's not like there are a vast range of other potential litters one could go for either as only 3 people breed miniature parti poodles in the uk that I could find. The breeder does all the relevant health tests which is good though

 

[KPoos]

The testing does not have to be given by a professional. Just a person that has printed the test out, has read over it, and can physically do the test and score it based on the criteria. It's a very simple test and doesn't take long at all. I really think that it needs to be done because you are having concerns and they are valid and you want a dog that's going to fit with you.

 

[neVar]

ditto- test doesn't need to be a professional- any doggy person who has the list can do it and score- it's pretty easy to do

I suggest you get it done.

Kiah (my aussie) scored mostly 2's and quite a few 1's. And that's OK that fits into my lifestyle totally fine. (My aussie old boy scored mostly 1's as a pup and was a tough cookie and still is to work with- he's way way way to independant, but does things like obedience AOK)

 

[Panda]

OK I have emailed the breeder a copy of the test and asked if she will get a friend to perform it on Panda.

I will let you know if the test is done or not He will be 7 weeks old tomorrow so perfect timing to do the test.

 

[cbrand]

FYI... the test needs to be done in a place the puppy has never been before so that the puppy is out of its comfort zone. This can simply be a part of the house the puppy has not been in before.