Good dog, bad dog
by ELIZABETH B. SHERMAN : The Herald-Sun
news@heraldsun.com      Mar 19, 2004 : 10:14 pm ET

DURHAM -- Nelson, a 7-month-old shepherd mix, wagged his tail eagerly, more than happy to comply with the trainer's demands Friday at the Durham County Animal Shelter.

He was affectionate, enjoying all the contact and attention as the trainers tested the dogs to see which ones were most "adoptable" and as shelter employees prepared for a long-awaited renovation that begins Tuesday.

Some of the dogs will be moved to the shelter's 50 new indoor/outdoor runs while the shelter's 58 old indoor/outdoor dog runs are renovated. But the shelter has more dogs than space, officials said, and must decide which dogs are friendly and likely to do well in a new home.

In addition, because the shelter will be taking in stray dogs as usual during the renovation, which could be completed in mid-May, it may become necessary for some dogs to be euthanized if the shelter runs out of room. In 2002, 4,359 dogs and cats were euthanized at the shelter -- about 73 percent of the animals that it took in.

And in an effort to weed out less adoptable pets, professional dog trainers Jane Marshall and Barbara Long have been conducting temperament testing of all the shelter's dogs since December in anticipation of next week's move.

"It's basically to get a little profile of their personality," Marshall said. "We find out whether the dog is suitable to be with kids, how it reacts to other dogs and how aggressive it is.

"Occasionally, we do get a dog who doesn't do well, and the shelter has to decide what to do with them," Marshall said.

Temperament testing consists of several tests that help trainers to understand a dog's personality, she said. One trainer conducts the tests, while another sits a few feet away, recording the dog's behavior.

Nelson's first test was the stare test. If a dog will let you stare it in the eyes, the trainer said, it is generally submissive and doesn't feel a need to dominate others.

For the second test, the trainer pinches the dog's paw just enough to make it uncomfortable. A tolerant dog will merely withdraw his paw, the trainers said, whereas a more aggressive dog might growl or bite. Then the pinch test is performed again, to see if the dog will still obey the trainer even after it becomes uncomfortable.

The trainer then clapped her hands and used verbal coaxing to encourage the dog to come, while the person recording the results watched to see if the dog came when called and whether or not it jumped up on the trainer.

Marshall and Long said most of the dogs they tested Friday did very well. Nelson got A's in every category.

"For a young dog, he's got a lot of self-control," Marshall said. "And he's very gentle."

But the dogs that do fail part of their temperament testing, she said, fail most often when their food is taken away.

For that test, the trainer gives the dog a bowl full of food and lets him start to eat it. Then, using a plastic hand attached to a pole -- the "Assess-A-Hand" -- the trainer pulls the bowl of food away and gauges the dog's reaction. Then the trainer lets the dog have the food again, before using the Assess-A-Hand to move the dog's face away from the food.

Nelson, who was docile and submissive, didn't mind the food test. But others, like Dylan the basset hound, who got A's on all of the other tests, flunked because they tried to guard their food by growling or biting.

However, performing poorly on a test or two doesn't mean a dog is dangerous or can't be trained, Long said. It just means that the dog might need an experienced owner or a household without small children.

"If they take it nicely, we know they can go home with kids," Marshall said. "But if they snatch a treat out of your hand, you know they probably shouldn't go home with a kid under 10 or 12 years old."

The shelter also uses temperament testing on a daily basis to describe each dog's personality for potential owners.

The results, which include such comments as "walks well on leash" or "doesn't get along with other dogs," then are written on cards hung from each dog's cage.

© 2004 The Durham Herald Company