Swedish Temperament Tests

MUH

The dogs walks on a leash with their owner, but there are several people as an audience and there are one testleader (as a kind of judge). You are allowed to give your dog all the help and support it needs to overcome any fear or shyness.

The intention with this test is only to see if the dog likes people and is able to forget threats and recover from the incidents they are exposed to. It's not a test you pass or not. Just a confirmation on what kind of dog you have.

1. First you walk your dog into the audience to see if the dog wants contact with these people. Here you wish the dogs to take contact of their own, without any help from the owner. It should be a well balanced contact - walking around in the croud with self-confidence and no shyness or growling. We don't wish for obtrusive contact - just "saying hello" to everyone and that's it.

2. Now the dog has to play with a stranger (no leash). The owner and the stranger are throwing a rag between them, back and forward. The stranger throws the rag away and here you wish for the dog to fetch it and go to the stranger with it to play some more. A plus is if the dog shakes the rag and pulls in it with the stranger. Here the dog is allowed to growl ... You do this again and again to se if the dog gets tired of the game - which is not what we wish for.

3. At this point you measure the dogs motivation to run after moving things. There is a rug tied to a long long string and the string runs between thin poles (don't know the word...) wich are placed in the ground in zigzag for about 25 meters. In the end of the string is someone running away to get the rug moving. The dog cannot see the person moving, just the rug and the rug should be reminding of a rabbit or something moving quickly away in zigzag. You wish for the dog to run after in high speed all the way to the rug, pick it up and shake it. You do the same thing twice, and the dog should be running and shaking both times.

4. Now comes the calm before the storm... Here we are measuring the dogs activity level when nothing happens. You just stand still with your dog on a leash for three minutes to see what the dog is doing meanwhile. You are not allowed to speak to the dog or moving around. Just stand still and quiet for three loooooooong minutes... Here the dogs should be alert but not restless. We don't wish them to move around to much or start to whine or chew on things. Just be alert about the environment but still calm and wait for something new to happen.

5. Now the real game starts... At this point we look at the dogs reactions at very sudden surprise. There is an overall tied up to look like a human with no head. At the start of the test it's laying down on the ground - invisible to the dog. You start walking towards it with your dog on a leash and when you are approaching it just pops up very quickly (with help from a long roap and a person in the other end). When the dog reacts you let go of the leash and wait for the dogs move. Of course they react on a thing like this. It looks human but it doesn't smell like it... You wish for the dog to move towards the overall by itself to check what it is. But in young age most of the dogs needs support of the owner to come along at least half the way. Hopefully the dog checks it out and see for itself it wasn't any danger. Here you can see the dogs curiousity. If the dog is curious it's hard to resist to check it out. Then you walk away and pass the overall several times to see that the dog has recovered and feel that everything is all right again. Then it's time for the next moment.

6. And the next moment is loud noise. A chain falling down on a metal-plate well hidden. It falls down exactly when you and your dog passes it. You let go of the leash and help the dog in the same way as in test 5. Even here you are helped if the dog is curious. Here you can notice a different reaction than you had expected if the dog hasn't recovered totally from the incident with the overall. A dog with very stabile temperament has no reactions left from the previous moment, but many of them is not capable to forget that quickly. Dogs who normally don't react at loud noices can do it here because it just becomes to much for them... And you walk away and back to pass the place several times to check if the dog is all right. When everything is OK you go to the next stop...

7. Assault. You walk your dog just as a normal walk and suddenly a threathning man jumps out of the bushes with his arm held high - just like he is going to jump you. All of his face is threat. You let go of the leash to let the dog do whats on its mind. It happens the dogs get so scared it runs away. Not so often the threatning man gets bitten, but it happens... As sudden as the man jumped out he becomes no threat anymore. Friendly face and low arms. All this is happening very quickly and when the threat is gone you wish for the dog to take contact with the man and everything is all right again.

8. Now it's time for the ghosts. You are standing still on one spot with the dog on a leash when suddenly two ghosts appear. It's one ghost on each side of you and your dog. These gosts are humans dressed in white sheets. No arms and legs. The sheets go all way down to the ground. The face is covered with a white hood, with painted big eyes and a threatning grin with a lot of teeth. This is the opposite of the overall - it smells human but it doesn't look like it. The ghosts are moving towards you and your dog, very slowly and only one at the time. When the ghosts are rather close they turn around and the scary grin and eyes disappear. Now you let go of the leash to see what the dog is doing. Hopefully it's not so scared that it runs away. You wish for the dog to check out the ghosts, but often you have to come along with the dog and start one man talking to the ghost which includes the dog's name. If the dog still don't want to check it out you start to undress the ghost to show the dog what's inside the sheets. And when the dog has checked it out you start with the next ghost. The second ghost usually is easier to overcome because the dog has gone through it once.

9. At last after all this it's time for the shooting. And you should know that a dog who is ever so stable with gunshooting otherwise - could fail on a day like this. Because if the dog not is able to recover from strange people, chains, overalls and ghosts it sure won't be able to take the shooting after all this. Sometimes the "judge" or the owner stops at this moment and skip the shooting, because it can leave scares for the future. If the dog is exposed to gunshooting at this point it can be very hard to repair - so it's better to give up at this point and leave without shooting. The person who is shooting stands at least 15 meters away from you and your dog. It starts with you and your dog playing, struggling with a rug. After the first shot the dog should be able to continue the game. Of course there can be reactions but absolutely no fear. There can be several shots to certain the dogs reactions. One has to be sure if it's fear, insecureness or if the dog just never has been exposed to shooting before. If it is fear - it stops immediately, the intention is never to scare the dogs!

But if the dog remains that way it can get very far, both mentally and working and be a truly example for the breed and you can with clear conciense use the dog in breeding - if the health is as good as the mind. (Personally I think most of the littermates should be of the same caliber.)

Korning

This test you pass or not. In some ways it's very similar to the MUH but some of the items from MUH is replaced with others, more demanding moments. It's the same here - if the dog needs support, you are allowed to give it. And if in any moment it becomes too much for the dog - you can stop at any time you wish. There are absolutely no intentions to scare or frighten the dogs !!!

In each moment you measure the reactions of the dogs from several aspects and the judges are giving the dogs points from -3, -2, -1, +1, +2, +3. Every item has a difficulty level which is multiplied with the points - so you get the final points.

The dog has to earn +100 points to get the titel KORAD and also been checked by a so called (in very swenglish) youthdog-describer. This person goes through the dog and checking the whole dog out into the very tiniest detail how well it matches to the standard. Too many digressions and the dog doesn't pass. So in other words - the dogs have to be both stable in character and fit well into the standard to earn the title KORAD.

In the test there is judgements of both aptitude and qualities. Through the whole test they measure the dogs way with people, temperament and nerves. They check out the motivations for struggling, both social and hunting and in some of the items you can measure the hardness, aggressiveness and if the dog wants to defend or not.

Exactly how the judges are giving their points is hard to explain and takes a very long time to write, so we just skip that.

1. The dog and the owner should take contact with the testleader, say hello - and that's it.

2. Testleader and owner plays with a rug along with the dog - same as in MUH.

3. The rug in a long long string in zigzag - same as MUH.

4. Is called "big prey" . A person is squatting and covered with a blanket. As you hold your dog in the necklace the "prey" or "booty" moves away with sthrenght in the movements in zigzag - still squatting. When the person with the blanket all over stops - you let the dog go. Hopefully it runs all the way to check it out. If the dog needs support you are allowed to help all the way. You wish for the dog to check the prey out and see for itself that it was just a human - no growling or biting in anger.

5. Test of the dog's feeling for reunion with the flock (pack) and testing the ability to act in conflict. The dog is held by the testleader when the owner runs away, calling for the dog and then hide. Between the dog and the owner is at least ten figures in the shape of militarys. Only the upper part of the body. The dog should ignore these and run right through to find the owner who is hiding in the bushes. If the dog doesn't dare to run through these figures it gets support from the testleader and the owner are allowed to call for the dog again. When the dog is reunited with the owner they take a walk in a leash through the figures to let the dog sniff on them and check them out.

6. The same as number 5 - but when the dog runs through the figures one of them has been laying down and now pops up when the dog is near.

7. The famous overall - same as MUH

8. Chain on a metal-plate - same as MUH

9. A man with a long coat and something big on his head is coming slowly towards the dog and the owner from a well hidden place. The man expresses strangeness (no threat) and is making little noises. Nothing should be normal about this man. He should be sneaking and leaning a bit in squat towards the dog. The wind must blow away from the dog so it cannot smell it's an ordinary human. From time to time the man looks away and become passive. The man changes from struggling invitations to passivity change and change again. When the man is passive it gives the dog opportunity to invite to struggle for itself. And if the dog does invitations, the man responds immediately.

10. Now it's time to test dominance. A low wide half-figure with marked eyes and a grin with lots of teeth is placed on a sledge. The sledge is well hidden in the bushes as you stand towards it with the dog on a leash in a distance about 15 meters. Someone is now dragging the sledge very slowly towards the dog. The sledge stops about 4 meters from the dog and you let the dog loose. Here you wish for the dog to sniff around the sledge to see if there are any tracks and then check the sledge and figure.

11. Ghosts - same as MUH

12. Gunshots - also the same as MUH