Mary Allen
The character test in dogs can be life-changing. Whether the further path ends socially integrated into a family, in the kennel of an animal shelter, or even with an injection always depends on the outcome of a character test. In Germany, the rules vary depending on the federal state. If a dog has taken part in a biting attack, it usually has to go to a character test. It doesn’t matter if the dog was just fighting back against a charging dog – which would only be its well-understood natural behavior. The result of such tests will determine whether his future life will be conditional. For example, a muzzle or leash requirement, the obligation to consult a dog trainer, or a fine for masters or mistresses would be conceivable.
Character Test and Dog Lists
Since the so-called attack dog hysteria in 2000, dogs have been euthanized en masse, as happened in Hamburg. Just because they were assigned to a specific race. They didn’t show the desired behavior on personality tests. Those politicians who showed themselves to be particularly lenient towards the owners of dogs that had become conspicuous presented themselves as particularly sharp. The often demonstratively shown harshness towards dogs is unfortunately regularly associated with superficiality in the matter. What technical competence is actually behind dog lists, husbandry requirements, or personality tests?
The Secrets of the Rattles
First of all, let’s take a look at the rat lists that exist in practically every federal state and canton in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. We see a motley bunch of mostly rare dog breeds. With the “Germanic Bear Dog”, a “dog breed” has achieved legal recognition that has not been recognized by any dog organization. The actually existing dog breed, which leads the statistics of biting incidents by a large margin, does not appear at all.
Of course, the German Shepherd is also by far the most popular dog breed. But what arguments does he not even come up with here, whereas dog breeds like the mastiff – to name just one example – in which not a single biting incident has been officially recorded since 1949 – appear regularly? If it were a question of the frequency of recorded biting incidents, the crossbreed would have to be at the top of each of these legal lists.
Competence Required
In order not to be misunderstood! In my opinion, not a single breed of dog should be on such lists. Which commission of experts drew up these lists, which have the force of law? That’s right, there are no such specialist commissions. Real experts, even complete doctoral theses, such as those at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover, have repeatedly pointed out that such categorizations according to breeds have no technical justification.
Not a single breed of dog is naturally aggressive, especially not towards people! But you can make any dog aggressive.
No More Reliable Than a Coin Toss?
In the character tests, it does not look much better with the technical competence. This problem was a key topic at the first North American professional dog conference that I was able to attend and speak at. The Canine Science Conference was organized by Arizona State University in Tempe (Phoenix).
The personality tests in animal shelters are no more reliable than a coin toss, so headlines one of the dozen or so lectures on the subject. Janis Bradley, director of the “National Canine Research Council”, and her team took a comprehensive look at the character tests used in US animal shelters. Each individual element of the tests was subjected to a theoretical and practical examination. In particular, the methods that are also common in Germany to provoke dogs into aggressive behavior, such as using a stick, staring, fire, opening an umbrella, etc., turned out to be completely worthless, even misleading. The statistical results from practice also prove the worthlessness of today’s test methods.
Fatal Consequences of Supposed Character Tests
You have to know that in many US animal shelters, which are often run by an “animal protection organization” that is also active in Germany, these tests classify dogs as adoptable or euthanize them immediately. The result is fatal in every respect. On the one hand, unsuitable dogs may come into a family with children, on the other hand, mentally and physically perfectly healthy dogs may be euthanized.
This is also reflected in the return rates, as has been worked out in various studies. The psychology professor and dog expert Clive Wynne, who is very familiar with psychological test procedures for humans, confirmed the pitfalls of today’s character tests – he called them pitfalls – from the point of view of the methodology. The character tests for dogs lack a scientific basis. No attempt had been made to actually check the results of the tests and thus to ensure their real reliability. Wynne proposed developing new tests with the same scientific rigor that has long been used in humans.
Specialist Training in Cynology
Even the personality tests for dogs that are common in Germany are unlikely to stand up to professional scrutiny. In addition, the situation is completely unclear. Such tests are often carried out by real or supposed experts with hardly any presentable qualifications commissioned by the local regulatory authorities. And where should the “presentable qualification” come from? In German-speaking countries, there are only training courses or courses offered by private individuals or organizations. Their real professional competence can be good, but is not subject to any scientific control or transparency – just “like flipping a coin”. Only the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna offers a state training course in “Applied Cynology”. Cynology means the study of dogs. After four semesters, the title “academically certified cynologist” is awarded.
Revive Dog Research in Germany
With such hopeful approaches, we still don’t have a well-founded personality test. In Germany, there is not even a chair or a university institute for cynology or dog research. Unfortunately, the Max Plank Institute in Leipzig, which was temporarily the leader in this field, ended its studies on dog behavior in 2013. The same fate befell dog research at the University of Kiel. In terms of animal welfare, it would make a lot of sense to develop and expand our expertise in the field of cynology. One goal would be to better understand the behavior of our dogs. And based on this, the development of reliable test methods. In this way, dogs from animal shelters could be better placed in the right places, and dogs that had become “conspicuous” could be spared the dubious diagnosis via today’s character test. That would be applied to animal welfare. Our dogs deserved a little more care and attention.