Puppy tests flunk long-term checkups
By Susan Milius
From Atlanta, Ga., at the annual meeting of the Animal Behavior Society
Popular personality tests for puppies may give a good snapshot of the little furballs’ current dispositions, but they don’t have the predictive power many owners hope and pay for.
Puppy aptitude tests assess such matters as sociability with people and reactivity to stimuli. The testers do simple things, such as gently rolling a puppy onto its back for 30 seconds, and then use a standardized scale to score the puppy’s reactions, such as flailing or lying limp and avoiding eye contact.