How to Do a Psychometric Test on Your Own Dog

Published on March 16, 2010 by Sean O'Meara   ·   No Comments

We know that every dog is different but it’s also a widely held belief that there are certain tests you can do yourself which work by compartmentalising certain aspects of their personality to give you a general idea of what ‘type’ of character they are.
For those who don’t know, psychometric testing is the process of measuring character traits, examining a person’s reactions to certain scenarios, analysing a person’s answers to a specific question which may or may not contain a right or wrong answer and other forms quizzing which aims to uncover a general picture of what ‘type’ of personality someone may posses.

Psychometric testing is very common amongst recruiters who are trying to establish if a person is well suited to a particular job.

Drives are something which fit into four basic categories for dogs Prey Drive, Pack Drive, Defence Drive (Fight) and Defence Drive (Flight).

Every dog is born with these innate drives but as the dog develops and gets older, their drive levels change. As an owner, your life will be helped if you can measure which drives are the most dominant in your dog’s individual character make up – and we’re here to help you do it. Understanding and recognising the canine drives can help us learn what makes our dogs tick.

When it comes to giving a quiz to you dog you might find they’ll be more inclined to eat the test paper rather than answer the questions so you’re going to have to answer on their behalf!

What Are The Drives:

Prey Drive: The dog’s hunting instincts are governed by their prey drive. Dogs who are excited, really excited, by anything and everything that moves. Dogs who never tire of chasing, chasing, chasing. Dogs who love to chase and who struggle to resist the temptation to run off and pursue anything they can see in motion, no matter how far away – this would indicate a strong prey drive.

High prey drive dogs are usually harder to train, especially in the hands of less experienced owners. However, as dog’s with this nature are so keen to be working, if their code can be cracked and the energy correctly channeled, high prey dogs tend to excel at obedience, working trials and anything which requires large amounts of mental and physical stimulation.

Pack Drive: All dogs are pack animals; some are better at pack life than others though. Dogs with a strong pack drive take their position in the family very seriously. They thrive if pack order is clear; they enjoy their individual role within the pack whether it be as a protector of the pack or being protected by the pack.

Pack dogs don’t want do things which may disturb pack life therefore they are normally very calm, very adaptable, non confrontational and content, family dogs. Pack dogs rarely, if ever, need to be dominated and they are perfectly happy to do as they are told, when they are told in order to keep pack harmony in tact.

Defence Drive (Flight): If you are ever in a position where you are faced with a dog who is barking directly at you and who is clearly not happy at you being in their way, if it so happens that this is a high defence drive dog with a flight instinct then there’s every chance the moment you take strong, confident strides forward, showing no aggression toward the dog but lots of assurance in your own actions, they will probably make a run for it, trying hard to get as far out of your way as possible.

So long as you don’t trap a dog of this nature in a corner, they will nearly always make a break to get as far away from you as they can. They are very nervous of new things; they don’t like anything at all which could even remotely threaten their personal being.

They will almost always bark in a fast, almost panicky fashion when presented with what they consider to be a real threat. If they are trapped or confined they WILL bite, usually very hard very fast and very often and they do it because they are scared for themselves.

This character trait can be diminished by nurturing the dog, not confusing the apparent signs of aggression as the dog being particularly bold (or in fact, particularly aggressive), they must be re-assured regularly and above all there fears should never be used against them. Everyone knows it can be quite amusing to see a dog jump on the sofa when the vacuum cleaner starts up but overstepping the mark with a dog of this nature will greatly enhance the problem for years to come.

Defence Drive (Fight): This is the dog that won’t run when confronted. This is the dog that won’t jump on the sofa when teased with the vacuum cleaner. This is the dog that, when presented with a threat to their personal wellbeing, will attack, will bite (hard) without a second’s thought and will adopt the kill or be killed attitude (not literally) in situations of conflict.

Dogs of this disposition will challenge for pack leadership, they are usually dominant by nature, defensive yes, fearful rarely. Strong ownership is required, curbing a fighting instinct, it could be argued, is a lot tougher than appeasing a flight-type response to confrontational situations. If you own this dog, you MUST win all challenges, you MUST never back down, you MUST be aware that a fun game to you, if he wins, will represent weakness on your behalf and that will be a big problem for you as the dog develops.

If you can be consistent and can read all the tell-tale signs of a high fight-defence drive as well as your own dog’s body language you won’t have a problem. Strong personality, leadership and consistency from you is the key and you will have a dog to be very, very proud of rather than a potentially ticking time bomb.

How To Test Your Dog’s Drives

Here are some personality traits all categorised under their appropriate drive headings. The more yes answers you give for each question will give you an idea of your own dog’s individual drive levels. Give yourself a point for each ‘Yes’ answer you give, below and then add up which category your dog scores highest in.

For example: If you answer yes to 85% of the questions in the prey drive category, your dog clearly displays a strong prey drive instinct and you can assess that against the advice given previously for high prey drive dogs and so on.

Prey Drive
Does Your Dog: Yes No
1. Sniff the ground or air frequently? ____ ____
2. Get excited by moving objects? ____ ____
3. Stalk cats, dogs or other objects? ____ ____
4. Bark in a high pitched voice
when excited (yip)? ____ ____
5. Pounce on his/her toys? ____ ____
6. Steal food from work surfaces or other hidden areas? ____ ____
7. Shake and “KILL” his/her toys ____ ____
8. Rip soft objects apart? ____ ____
9. Gulp down food, never leaving any scraps? ____ ____
10. Like to carry/fetch things? ____ ____
11. Like to dig? ____ ____
12. Bury things?

Pack Drive
Does Your Dog: Yes No
1. Get along with other dogs? ____ ____
2. Get along with people? ____ ____
3. Bark when left alone? ____ ____
4. Urge people to pet them or make lots of effort to snuggle up to people?____ ____
5. Respond positively to verbal praise? ____ ____
6. Like to be groomed, stroked or touched often? ____ ____
7. Make strong eye contact with you? ____ ____
8. Tremble or whine if left in a stay position? ____ ____
9. Follow you like a shadow? ____ ____
10. Play with you or other dogs happily? ____ ____
11. Jump up to greet people, even if he/her has never seen the person before? ____ ____
12. Show a lot of reproductive
behaviour, i.e. mounting other dogs, people etc ____ ____

Defence Drive (Fight)
Does Your Dog: Yes No
1. Investigate strange sounds or objects? ____ ____
2. Love to win at tug of war games? ____ ____
3. Bark or growl in a deep tone, bark with a clear, un panicky tone? ____ ____
4. Guard their territory? ____ ____
5. Guard you? ____ ____
6. Guard his/her food and/or toys? ____ ____
7. Show indifference to being petted? ____ ____
8. Dislike being groomed? ____ ____
9. Bite on lead when being corrected? ____ ____
10. Dominate other dogs? ____ ____
11. Like to fight or challenge even in a playful way? ____ ____
12. Get picked on or even attacked by older dogs than him/her? ____ ____

Defence Drive (Flight)
Does Your Dog: Yes No
1. Run from new situations or show unease? __ __
2. Hide behind you when insecure about anything? __ __
3. Avoid direct confrontations by leaving the area? __ __
4. Run away when being told off or if training is going badly? __ __
5. Crowd you when walking at heel (i.e cling to your legs)? __ __
6. Raise his/her hackles when meeting
someone new or coming up against a strange dog? __ __
7. Avoids direct eye contact with you when you are facing him/her or if left in the stay position?` __ __
8. Crawl on belly or turn upside
down when being told off? __ __
9. Tries to escape if being examined or held by a strange person or even you?__ __
10. Urinates when he/she thinks they have done something wrong or are about to get told off? __ __
11. Urinates during a greeting, even in excitement? __ __
12. Bite or nip when cornered or bark/whine in an uncontrolled, panicky tone? __ __

Now, add up your scores

Prey Drive /12
Pack Drive /12
Defence Drive (Fight) /12
Defence Drive (Flight) /12

We will be publishing a follow up article, explaining more about the drives.

Stay tuned!

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