On September 23. 2000 Yankee was tested according to the Danish Kennel Club’s Junior Temperament Assesment, the test is assessed by very experienced evaluators, who have received a lot of training from the Kennel Club as well as they have experience from similar tests of numerous other breeds. The test is aimed to show the heriditary traits in the individual dogs and is to be performed before appr. two years of age as it can be more difficult to assess older dogs instincts as opposed to learnt actions.It was a glorious autumn day, a pleasure to be out in, which was a great luck as as it took almost nine hours to get through the nine RR’s being tested that day
link to original test paper in Danish
The scale goes from 1-5 at all tests – 1 being no reaction from the dog 5 being a lot of reaction
1 is contact – how do the dog react to strangers?
a) dog and owner approach a total stranger in a field
(1 being avoid contact, growls, bites – 5 being jumps up, barks, even before the owner greets the stranger)
Y’s reaction: 3, aloof but polite and accepts petting, after I greeted the test person
b) is test person taking the dog on leash away from owner
(1 being will not come along 5 being follows happily )
reaction: 4 – follows willingly
c) handling by stranger
(1 being will not be touched growls/tries to escape /5 accept touch with pleasure)
Y’s reaction: 4 – accept handling without problems
2 is Play – do the dog like to play with toys?
a) Play with a piece of rolled cloth
( 1 will not play at all/5 very active play, hard to stop)
Y’s reaction:2 which is doesn’t play but shows interest
b) Play – hold
(1 doesn’t grab the toy/5 grabs it very determinedly)
Y’s reaction:1 – he wasn’t interested in this roll of cloth
c) Play and pull
(1 doesn’t grib / 5 grab immediately and pulls, won’t let go and keep shaking)
Y’s reaction:2 as he gribbed carefully, but let go the minute the test leader tried to pull
3 Coursing – on a short handpulled course
a) speed
(1 doesn’t start/5 start at high speed overshoot the lure with more than 10 ft)
Y’s reaction:4 as started and finished at very high speed
b) coursing – grab the lure
(1 doesn’t go for the lure ignores it on purpose/ 5 grabs it and shakes it)
Y’s reaction:4 as he took the lure after it has stopped (and then retrieved it for me, but that wasn’t part of the test
4 stress level – standing, doing nothing in the forest
(1 not active/5 whines, barks pulls very impatient)
Y’s reaction: 3 walks around sniffs a bit
5 surprise – a coat jumps up from the forest right next to the dogas he walks by
a) fear – does the coat scare the dog?
(1 dog stops shortly, continues/5 runs more than 15 ft away)
Y’s reaction:4 as he ran back to the group of people for safety and let me handle the stranger =:-0 – mummy you do that!
b) after reaction to coat
(1 no threath/5 very threathening – attack)
Y’s reaction:1 no threath at all
c) curiosity towards the coat – will the dog approach?
(1 not curiuos/ only gets near after it has been put on the ground/5 goes up to the doll immediately w/o help)
Y’s reaction:1 – hey mom you tackle the monster THEN I’ll take a look
d) reaction when passing the site where the “attack” happened
(1 no reaction/ 5 end of leash away from site at least twice when passing)
Y’s reaction:2: a slight reaction first time we passed, none the next
6 – Sound- the dog and handler walks past a metal plate and a chain is dropped on it
a) fear – does it scare the dog?
(1 short stop/5 panics, runs more than 15 ft away)
Y’s reaction:4, as he literally jumped away
b) Sound – curiosity (will the dog approach the plate?)
(1 approach the plate only when called/ 5 approach on own accord)
Y’s reaction: 2 this time as he walked up after I walked up to the plate (oh good for you mum YOU have killed it)
c) – sound- after reaction
(1 walks straight past the plate/5 avoids getting near at least twice )
Y’s reaction:1 – oh but mum you have killed it so why should I bother anymore?
7 Ghosts – two of the testers dressed in sheets like halloween ghosts, approaches the dog very slowly from the forest
a) fear
(1 doesn’t try to run away/5 bolts from the field)
Y’s reaction:3 Hmmm what is that? I better sniff some grass, no? that didn’t make them go? hmm, hide behind mum, no??
b) Threaths/aggression
(1 no threaths/5 very aggressive with attack attempts)
Y’s reaction:2 one or two threaths – I am a very brave dog, I just walk a little in front of my mum and bark of those things
c) after reaction – the dog is made to approach the ghosts and recognize they are friendly humans
(1 wont go near or only comes after the mask is off/5 goes up on own accord)
Y’s reaction: as there was two ghosts two points are given and Yankee got a 2 for the first, as I had to go up and speak to the “ghost” MUM- is it a HUMAN??? WAUAAWWW, and then he got a 4 as I just had to indicate that he should go and say hello to the other poor person still wrapped in a sheet……. a happy RR is “quite” hard to fend off when your arms are still glued to your body…….
8 Shots (4 shots are fired, two when the dog are playing where it is assessed if he is disturbed in his play and two when he is heeling)
(1 no reaction/5 panic)
Y’s reaction: 3 as the toy wasn’t interesting even before the shots and he lost interest after, but no signs of panic or distress.
This test shows that Yankee, though not a very brave dog, is not nervous and easily overcome his fears. He learns quickly – see the reaction pattern change from the coat which scared him to the much more scary ghosts, but by then he had discovered that in this place weird but friendly things happened. He is in no way aggressive.
The test was conducted in a very friendly peaceful atmosphere and if any dog had shown undue reactions it would have been stopped immediately, there was plenty of time to relax between each movement.