"I have my dog's MT, mentality test, on film if it's of interest. (Read the
description for the film for mor info).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvX1CNHa0yI I'm from Sweden too, by the way. For
working dogs like my Australian shepherd, they need to pass the mentality test
and an exterior description to get the title KORAD. It's considered a good merit
if you're a breeder. (Dogs like for example the saluki can not get the title
KORAD even if they would score enough points). A year ago, my dog would have
passed the test, but they changed the rules this year and thus he was 2 points
short in the first half of the test. For me, the test is given too much weight.
My dog did not tug or hunt "little prey" like mad because that's what I have
taught him, inhibited him. Had I done the opposite thing when raising him -
worked on really firing him up at the mere sight of a tug toy and reinforcing
that etc, the outcome would have been different. Since I don't want a lot of
those things, of course I did instead inhibit those behaviours to a more
moderate level. Some will claim that these tests shows the dogs true nature, but
since dogs can be up to 4 years old and do this test, that's hardly completely
accurate, unless you're not giving you're dog any kind of training at
all...
That being said, it's still an interesting test, to see how your
dog reacts in those weird and often threatening situations. I for one got an
excellent confirmation that the time I have invested training my dog to handle
different challenges without overreacting and getting stressed out has worked.
=)"
Hi and Thank you for the link!
I like that you commented, and your critizism is very true! It is possible to train a dog for the tests, even tho we're not supposed to do it ;) At about 18 months I don't think our shaping/training of the dog is, in most cases that is, strong enough to realy affect the test results, I don't like when the test is "the most important", it should be used as a guideline for breeders and not so much for putting down an individuals dog. It puts a dog in situations it isn't used to, and those I find are the interesting parts. In no way is an MH a faultsafe thing, but it is one of the better tests available in the world. (Wether we like it or not >.<) 4 years old I think is way, way to old to get an ackurate result. Personally I wouldn't walk the course with Kaiser, he's been too socialized and too trained to have a "clear" result in the test, and thats at 3 years old. He's just seen too much of life to have a "naked" reaction. A younger dog, yes, most definatly! And I won't recommend anyone with an older dog to do it either. The tug and small pray parts, in my point of view, aren't the most important ones. The things i find important in the tests are the fear/aggression provocations, to know how low or high the triggerpoint is in the dog for those reactions. Again, thank you for your comment and the link! I hope you'll keep stopping in here and feel free to always share your thoughts and ideas with us! We, as in the handfull of people behind this "little project" belive strongly and firmly in honesty and openness - so all thoughts, ideas, critizism and, hopefully, praise will be left open on the page together with the replies. It is so important to show the whole spectrum, not only of our dogs - but of us handlers, owners and breeders too!
description for the film for mor info).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvX1CNHa0yI I'm from Sweden too, by the way. For
working dogs like my Australian shepherd, they need to pass the mentality test
and an exterior description to get the title KORAD. It's considered a good merit
if you're a breeder. (Dogs like for example the saluki can not get the title
KORAD even if they would score enough points). A year ago, my dog would have
passed the test, but they changed the rules this year and thus he was 2 points
short in the first half of the test. For me, the test is given too much weight.
My dog did not tug or hunt "little prey" like mad because that's what I have
taught him, inhibited him. Had I done the opposite thing when raising him -
worked on really firing him up at the mere sight of a tug toy and reinforcing
that etc, the outcome would have been different. Since I don't want a lot of
those things, of course I did instead inhibit those behaviours to a more
moderate level. Some will claim that these tests shows the dogs true nature, but
since dogs can be up to 4 years old and do this test, that's hardly completely
accurate, unless you're not giving you're dog any kind of training at
all...
That being said, it's still an interesting test, to see how your
dog reacts in those weird and often threatening situations. I for one got an
excellent confirmation that the time I have invested training my dog to handle
different challenges without overreacting and getting stressed out has worked.
=)"
Hi and Thank you for the link!
I like that you commented, and your critizism is very true! It is possible to train a dog for the tests, even tho we're not supposed to do it ;) At about 18 months I don't think our shaping/training of the dog is, in most cases that is, strong enough to realy affect the test results, I don't like when the test is "the most important", it should be used as a guideline for breeders and not so much for putting down an individuals dog. It puts a dog in situations it isn't used to, and those I find are the interesting parts. In no way is an MH a faultsafe thing, but it is one of the better tests available in the world. (Wether we like it or not >.<) 4 years old I think is way, way to old to get an ackurate result. Personally I wouldn't walk the course with Kaiser, he's been too socialized and too trained to have a "clear" result in the test, and thats at 3 years old. He's just seen too much of life to have a "naked" reaction. A younger dog, yes, most definatly! And I won't recommend anyone with an older dog to do it either. The tug and small pray parts, in my point of view, aren't the most important ones. The things i find important in the tests are the fear/aggression provocations, to know how low or high the triggerpoint is in the dog for those reactions. Again, thank you for your comment and the link! I hope you'll keep stopping in here and feel free to always share your thoughts and ideas with us! We, as in the handfull of people behind this "little project" belive strongly and firmly in honesty and openness - so all thoughts, ideas, critizism and, hopefully, praise will be left open on the page together with the replies. It is so important to show the whole spectrum, not only of our dogs - but of us handlers, owners and breeders too!
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