EARLY PREDICTIVE UTILITY BATERY TESTS OF TEMPERAMENT IN PUPPIES EPUB-TOTIP©

The EPUB-TOTIP © battery test was developed by Dr. Agata Kokocińska and is part of a scientific project under the SONATA-16 grant.

Meta-analyzes of results relating to inter-rater agreement, reliability, internal consistency, and convergent validity generally support the reliability and validity of canine temperament tests, but more studies are needed to confirm these preliminary findings. Discriminatory validity studies are necessary because preliminary findings on discriminant validity are mixed. Therefore, these tests should only be taken as initial suggestions for the potential of individual puppies. The influence of the environment – upbringing, training, socialization, experiences – is a strong factor influencing the animal’s character traits. Thus, the final character of an animal consists of the resultant of innate predispositions and the influence of environmental factors.

EPUB-TOTIP © Tests are universal for all breeds. They give an overview of puppies temperament and their psychological potential. They help in determining the utility predispositions of a given dog, which house the puppies should go to and what is the best way of keeping them. The final picture of an adult dog’s character depends, however, on the future way of leading the dog, including, above all, appropriate socialization and upbringing.

Basic test of 6-7 weeks old puppies – PRIMARY BASIC TEST

The tests cover a series of sub-tests that define 7 aspects:

1. the potential for cooperation with people;
2. sociality and attentiveness;
3. the potential for olfactory work (detection and tracking);
4. the potential for hunting behaviour;
5. sensitivity to: visual, sound, touch, odor stimuli;
6. frustration coping strategies;
7. obstinacy and number of problem-solving strategies;