With each litter I conduct a series of test, nine in all, for each pup. I am often asked why and it must be time consuming. In reality it only takes about 1 hour to do the whole litter and I feel much more comfortable in suggesting which pup should be the best fit for the owner and the future job of the pup. It also helps in monitoring my breeding program.
The puppy test is an adaptation of a common test which can be found on the web and is given with herding instincts being considered and reflected in the interpretation of the results. The test looks at the following:
The dominance of the pup
How readily does the pup accept human leadership
How the pup should react to and adjust to different situations
How easy can the pup be controlled
How submissive is the pup
How independent is the pup
Now all of this does not indicate if the pup will herd or work for you but rather the instincts and character of the pup. The success of the pup is still dependent on the quality of the training it will receive from the new owner. The New Zealand Heading dog, my breed, does work some what different then other common herding breeds and the success of the dog is totally dependent on the understanding of the owner to these differences.
The NZHD breed is being used more, through out North America and else where, in cross breeding programs mainly to calm down the other breeds and make training less traumatic and quicker. Also the VERY strong herding instinct, the stand up style and the ability to thinking and react to stock is also being sought after.
ALL PUPS WITH IN A LITTER ARE NOT CREATED THE SAME
Be who you are and say what you feel....
Because those that matter...
don't mind...
And those that mind... don't
matter."
