|
Wendy Volhard's Canine Personality Profile
The
Volhard Top Dog
Training and Nutrition website has resources
training your dog and understanding your dog's behavior. To help you
understand how to approach your dog's training, Wendy Volhard developed the
Canine Personality Profile (CPP
©1993). The Profile catalogs ten behaviors in each drive that influence
the dog's
responses and which are useful to us in training. The ten behaviors chosen are
those that most closely represent the strengths of the dog in each of the
drives. The Profile does not pretend
 to
include all behaviors seen in a dog, nor the complexity of their
interaction. Although it is an admittedly crude index of your dog’s
behavior, you will find it surprisingly accurate. The results of the Profile
will give you a better understanding of why your dog is the way he is and
the most successful way to train him. You can then make use of his
strengths, avoid needless confusion and greatly reduce the time it takes to
train him.
When completing the
Profile, keep in mind that it was devised for a house dog or pet with an
enriched environment, perhaps even a little training, and not a dog tied out
in the yard or kept solely in a kennel — such dogs have fewer
opportunities to express as many behaviors as a house dog. Answers should indicate those behaviors your dog would
exhibit if he had not already been trained to do otherwise. For
example, did he jump on people to greet them, or jump on the counter to
steal food, before he was trained not to do so? The fight part of the
defense drive does not fully express itself until the dog is mature, around
two to four years of age, depending on the breed, although you may see
tendencies toward those behaviors earlier. Young dogs tend to exhibit more
flight behaviors than older dogs. The questionnaire for the profile suggests
three possible answers to each question with a corresponding point value.
The possible answers and their corresponding values are: Almost always = 10;
Sometimes = 5; and, Hardly ever = 0. For example, if your dog is a Beagle,
the answer to the question "when presented with the opportunity,
Does YOUR
dog sniff the ground or air?" is probably "almost always", giving him a
score of 10. You may not have had the chance to observe all of these
behaviors, in which case you leave the answer blank.
When presented
with the opportunity . . . .
| 1. |
Does YOUR DOG sniff
the ground or air a lot? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always
Sometimes
Hardly ever |
| 2. |
Does YOUR DOG get
along with other dogs? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 3. |
Does YOUR DOG stand
its ground or investigate strange objects or sounds? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 4. |
Does YOUR DOG run
away from new situations? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 5. |
Does YOUR DOG get
excited by moving objects, such as bikes or squirrels? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 6. |
Does YOUR DOG get
along with people? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 7. |
Does YOUR DOG like to
play tug of war games to win? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 8. |
Does YOUR DOG hide
behind you when unable to cope |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 9. |
Does YOUR DOG stalk
cats, other dogs or things in the grass? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 10. |
Does YOUR DOG bark
when left alone? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 11. |
Does YOUR DOG bark or
growl in a deep tone? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 12. |
Does YOUR DOG act
fearful in unfamiliar situations? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 13. |
Does YOUR DOG, when
excited, bark in a high-pitched voice? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 14. |
Does YOUR DOG solicit
petting or like to snuggle with you? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 15. |
Does YOUR DOG guard
territory? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 16. |
Does YOUR DOG tremble
or whine when unsure? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 17. |
Does YOUR DOG pounce
on toys? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 18. |
Does YOUR DOG like to
be groomed? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 19. |
Does YOUR DOG guard
food or toys? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 20. |
Does YOUR DOG crawl
or turn upside down when reprimanded? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 21. |
Does YOUR DOG shake
and "kill" toys? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 22. |
Does YOUR DOG seek
eye contact with you? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 23. |
Does YOUR DOG dislike
being petted? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 24. |
Is YOUR DOG reluctant
to come close to you when called? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 25. |
Does YOUR DOG steal
food or garbage? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 26. |
Does YOUR DOG follow
you around like a shadow? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 27. |
Does YOUR DOG dislike
being groomed or bathed? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 28. |
Does YOUR DOG have
difficulty standing still when groomed? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 29. |
Does YOUR DOG like to
carry things? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 30. |
Does YOUR DOG play a
lot with other dogs? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 31. |
Does YOUR DOG guard
the owner(s) |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 32. |
Does YOUR DOG cringe
when someone strange bends over him/her? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 33. |
Does YOUR DOG wolf
down food? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 34. |
Does YOUR DOG jump up
to greet people? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 35. |
Does
YOUR DOG like to
fight with other dogs? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 36. |
Does YOUR DOG urinate
during greeting behavior? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 37. |
Does YOUR DOG like to
dig and bury things? |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 38. |
Does YOUR DOG show
reproductive behaviors, such as courting or mounting other dogs?
|
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 39. |
Does YOUR DOG get
picked on by other dogs (Either now or when it was young?) |
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
| 40. |
Does YOUR DOG tend to
bite when cornered?
|
10
5
0 |
Almost always Sometimes
Hardly ever
|
© 1993 Wendy Volhard
Scoring the Profile
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
| 5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
| 9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
| 13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
| 17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
| 21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
| 25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
| 29 |
30 |
31 |
32 |
| 33 |
34 |
35 |
36 |
| 37 |
38 |
39 |
40 |
| ___
Total
Prey drive |
___
Total
Pack Drive |
___
Total
Fight Drive |
___ Total
Flight Drive |
What Do You Want Your Dog To Do?
Before you can use the results of
the Profile, you need to look at what you want your dog to do or, and this
is often more important, stop doing. For example, when you walk him on leash
and want him to pay attention to you, he has to be in pack drive. Your dog,
on the other hand, wants to sniff, maybe follow a trail or chase the
neighbors cat; he is in prey drive. For most of what you want your dog to do,
he needs to be in pack drive, such as
- come
- walk on a loose leash
- sit
- down
- stay
For most of what your dog wants to do, he
is going to be in prey drive, such as
- chase the cat
- follow the trail of a rabbit
- retrieve a ball or stick
- sniffing the grass
- digging
You can readily see that those times when
you want him to behave you have to convince your dog to forget about being
in prey drive. Most often it is prey drive that gets dogs into trouble. The
dog with high pack and low prey drive rarely even needs training. Such a dog
doesn’t
- chase bicycles, cars, children or
joggers
- cats or other animals
- roam from home
- steal food
- chew your possessions
- doesn’t pull on the leash
In other words, he is a perfect pet.
Theoretically, your does not need defense drive (fight) behaviors for what
you want him to learn, but the absence of these behaviors has important
ramifications. It is pivotal and determines how your dog has to be trained.
The beauty of the drives theory is that, if used correctly, it gives you a
tool to overcome areas where your dog may be weak. Bringing Out Drives
The basic rules for bringing out
drives are as follows:
- Prey drive is elicited by the use of
motion -- hand signals (except Stay) -- a high-pitched tone of voice, or
an object of attraction (stick, ball or food), chasing or being chased,
and leaning backward with your body as the dog comes to you.
- Pack drive is elicited by touching,
praising and smiling at the dog, grooming, and playing and training with
your body erect.
- Defense drive behavior is elicited by
leaning or hovering over the dog, either from the front or the side,
checking (a sharp tug on the leash), a harsh tone of voice, and
exaggerated use of the Stay hand signal.
Body Language
So you can see that what you do,
and how you handle your dog, makes a great difference to his behavior. If
you want a dog to run away from you, then you lean forwards towards him when
he comes to you! In his language you are pushing him backwards and putting
him in defense drive, when he was in pack drive all along. If you want a
well trained dog, you will have to learn how to switch these drives back and
forth.
|
|
