Came across this today, very interesting, and done in Sweeden. Breeders will publish the results, and it is for all to see.. Mentality Test Description - Swedish MT/MH In the Swedish Mentality Test (Mentalbeskrivning Hund) Ruotsalaisessa luonnetestissä(Mentalbeskrivning Hund eli MH) the tested dog will not be disqualified, the reason of the test is to objectively describe the mentality of the tested dog. The scale of the test range from one to five, one is mild and five is considerable reaction/activity. The reaction intensity should vary in different parts of the test, some parts require more considerable reaction than others were lesser reaction is hoped. The MH-test consists the following parts: 1. Contact The dog owner walks around in a crowd with the dog and lets the dog get acquainted with the people. Thenafter the dog owner takes the dog to the test leader. The test leader takes the dog by the lead and tries to persuade the dog to walk away from his owner. The dog is brought back to his owner and the test leader examines his teeth and paws. Within the part of the test dog´s reactions to strangers and reactions when it is handled are studied. The dog should be co-operative/aceptive towards streingers but it should not be too aloof or fawning. 2. Play I The test leader and the dog play with a rag, which is also thrown to the owner of the dog, all the time the dog is loose and has the permission to persuade the rag. In this part dog´s eagerness to play, will to win over the rag and to grab it are valued. 3. Chase The dog is allowed to chase a lure which is dragged on ground in siksak-movement. In this part the dog´s speed to take off chase, the hunting ability and what the dog does when the lure stops - does it grab it or ignore it etc. - are estimated. The dog should havea fairly strong hunting instinct and it should grab the lure in its mouth. 4. Activity The owner and the dog stand still for three minutes. In this part the dog is offered no activity and ideal reaction would be that dog is able to stay still, calm down and relax. 5. Play from a Distance Approximately 40 meters away from the dog is a person in disguise. She/he moves irrationally and then throwing a rag inviting the dog to play. Then hidding away from the dog and the dog is realeased. The section measures dogs curiosity, willingness and courage to leave his/her owner and the dog´s eagerness and co-operation with the figure. 6. Suprise The dog is suprised while it is walking on a path with a overall tied into the trees accross it. The test leader pulls the overall with quick action just in front of the dog. In this section the dog is to react both to the suprising situation and to recover from it. The dog is to wish and to dare to look over the oeverall as soon as the threat and the scarer have disappeared. The overall is passed on several occations, so the dog has many possibilities to look over them. The handler has a permission to support the dog if it is fearful in approching the overall by itself. The section measures the dogs courage, independence and ability to recover. 7. Sound sensitivity The dog is suprised with a loud sound from its front while it is walking on a path. The sound source is a mental pulled against metal. The section measures how the dog reacts to the sound and how quickly it recovers from the situation.. 8. Chosts Two test leaders dressed in all in white ghost disguise approach the dog slowly from two directions. Their faces also cover with white cloth with a drawn mouth and eyes.The wind is to blow away from the dog, so that the dog does not understand the fugures to be humans. When the figures are about 4 meters from the dog they stop and turn their backs on the dog. The dog is released and it has a possibility to go to the figures. The section measures dog´s level of curiosity, willingness and courage to approach the figures. It also measures the dog´s reaction whn it is being under treat and it´s willingness / ability to stand up for itself and it´s handler. 9. Play II The dog is allured to play, just like in the earlier section of the test. Same time it is being observed on the how the mental distress of earlier test situations have affected it´s behaviour and ability to recover and relax. 10. Gun-Shots In this ection four (4) gunshots are fired; two when the dog is playing with it´s owner and the other two when both are staying still. The shots are fired 20 meters away from the dog. The dog is not to fear the gunshots. The owner of the dog has possibility to pass on this section of the test if so wished. In all the above sections of the test different abilities of the dog are being observed and measured by the dog´s reactions to the situations at hand. The M- test consists alltogether 31 sections. personal.inet.fi/koti/bawabu/mentality.htm
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 07:49:38 +0000