Developed by Jack and Wendy Volhard © Wendy Volhard 2003 1/3

PUPPY APTITUDE TEST

This score sheet has been prepared for the convenience of those who have
Dog Training For Dummies by Jack & Wendy Volhard (IDG Books, 2001),
which contains the information necessary for accurate results
and the correct interpretation of the scores.

© Wendy Volhard 2003

Puppy (color, sex) ________________ litter ______________________ date ____________

TEST PURPOSE SCORE #

Came readily, tail up,
1
jumped, bit at hands.
Degree of social Came readily, tail up,
SOCIAL ATTRACTION 2
attraction to people, pawed, licked at hands.
confidence, or
Place puppy in test area about four feet from the Came readily, tail up. 3
dependence.
tester. Tester kneels, leans backwards and coaxes Came readily, tail down 4
the pup to her/him by clapping hands gently. Pack Drive. Came hesitantly, tail
5
down.
Didn't come at all. 6
Followed readily, tail
up, got underfoot, bit 1
at feet.
Followed readily, tail
FOLLOWING 2
up, got underfoot.
Willingness to follow a Followed readily, tail
The tester stands up and slowly walks away person. 3
up
encouraging the puppy to follow. Make sure the pup
sees you walk away. Coax puppy to follow by talking Pack Drive. Followed readily, tail
4
to it and attracting its attention. down.
Followed hesitantly,
5
tail down.
Did not follow or went
6
away.
Struggled fiercely,
1
flailed, bit.
Degree of dominance or Struggled fiercely,
2
submissive tendency, flailed.
RESTRAINT
and ease of handling in Settled, struggled,
difficult situations. settled with some eye 3
The tester crouches down and gently rolls the pup on contact.
its back and holds it down with light pressure with Fight or Flight Drive. Struggled then settled. 4
one hand for 30 seconds.
No struggle, no eye
5
contact.
No struggle, straining
6
to avoid eye contact.
Jumped, pawed, bit,
1
growled.
Jumped, pawed. 2
SOCIAL DOMINANCE
Degree of acceptance of Cuddled up to tester
3
social dominance by a and tried to lick face.
Puppy sits or stands on crouching tester's left side
and tester gently strokes it from the head to back. person. Squirmed, licked at
4
Continue stroking until a recognizable behavior is hands.
Pack Drive.
established. Rolled over, licked at
5
hands.
Went away and stayed
6
away.

© Wendy Volhard 2003

As long as the material used is correctly credited with the authors' name and publication the text comes from
and a link to [Link], Jack and Wendy Volhard encourage people to use their material.
Updated: January 10, 2003 – For updates and contact info: [Link]
Developed by Jack and Wendy Volhard © Wendy Volhard 2003 2/3
Struggled fiercely, tried
1
to bite.
ELEVATION DOMINANCE
Degree of accepting Struggled fiercely. 2
dominance while in
The tester cradles the pup under its chest, with both Struggled, settled,
3
hands, fingers interlaced, palms up and gently lifts it position of no control. struggled, settled.
two feet off the ground, and holds it there for 30 No struggle, relaxed. 4
Fight or Flight Drive.
seconds. No struggle, body stiff. 5
No struggle, froze. 6
Chased object, picked it
1
up and ran away.
Chased object, stood
Degree of willingness to over it, and did not 2
RETRIEVING return.
do something for you.
Together with social Chased object, picked it
The tester crouches beside the pup and attracts its
attraction and following, up and returned with it 3
attention with a crumpled up piece of paper. When
a key indicator for ease to tester.
the pup shows some interest, the tester tosses the
or difficulty in training. Chased object and
paper no more than four feet in front of the pup,
returned without it to 4
encouraging it to retrieve the paper.
Prey Drive. tester.
Started to chase object,
5
lost interest.
Did not chase object. 6
8-10 counts before
TOUCH SENSITIVITY 1
response.

The tester locates the webbing of one of the puppy's 6-7 counts before
front paws and presses it lightly between his index Degree of sensitivity to 2
response.
finger and thumb. The tester gradually increases touch and a key
pressure while counting to 10 and stops the pressure indicator to the type of 5-6 counts before
3
when the puppy pulls away or shows discomfort. training equipment response.
required.
* Do not use your fingernail when performing this 2-4 counts before
4
test. Press between the finger and thumb lightly response.
then more firmly until you get a response.
2-3 counts before
5
response.
Listened, located
sound, walked toward 1
it barking.
Listened, located
2
sound, barked.
SOUND SENSITIVITY Degree of sensitivity to
Listened, located
sound. (Also a
sound, showed
The puppy is placed in the center of the testing area rudimentary test for 3
curiosity and walked
and an assistant stationed at the perimeter makes a deafness.)
toward sound.
sharp noise, such as banging a metal spoon on the
bottom of a metal pan. Prey Drive. Listened, located the
4
sound.
Cringed, backed off,
5
hid.
Ignored sound, showed
6
no curiosity.

© Wendy Volhard 2003

As long as the material used is correctly credited with the authors' name and publication the text comes from
and a link to [Link], Jack and Wendy Volhard encourage people to use their material.
Updated: January 10, 2003 – For updates and contact info: [Link]
Developed by Jack and Wendy Volhard © Wendy Volhard 2003 3/3

Looked, attacked and

1
bit.
Degree of response to a Looked, barked and tail
SIGHT SENSITIVITY 2
moving object, such as up.
chasing bicycles, Looked curiously,
The puppy is placed in the center of the testing area.
children or squirrels. attempted to 3
The tester ties a string around a bath towel and
investigate.
jerks it across the floor two feet away from puppy. Prey Drive. Looked, barked, tail-
4
tuck.
Ran away, hid. 5
Looked and ran to the
umbrella, mouthing or 1
biting it.
Looked and walked to
Degree of startle the umbrella, smelling 2
STABILITY
response to a strange it cautiously.
object.
An umbrella is opened about five feet from the Looked and went to
3
puppy and gently placed on the ground. investigate.
Sat and looked, but did
Fight and Flight Drive. not move toward the 4
umbrella.
Ran away from the
5
umbrella.
Showed no interest. 6

STRUCTURE The puppy is correct in

good
structure.
The puppy is gently set and held in a natural stance
and evaluated for structure in the following
categories:
The puppy has a slight
Degree of structural fault or deviation.
fair
• Straight front soundness.
• Straight rear
Good structure is
• Shoulder lay back necessary.
• Front angulation The puppy has an
• Croup angulation extreme fault or poor
deviation.
• Rear angulation
(see diagram below)

(First published in the AKC Gazette, March 1979, in an article by Melissa Bartlett.)

© Wendy Volhard 2003

As long as the material used is correctly credited with the authors' name and publication the text comes from
and a link to [Link], Jack and Wendy Volhard encourage people to use their material.
Updated: January 10, 2003 – For updates and contact info: [Link]