The Results Are In

Before I get started on the results of the personality test I took for the pack yesterday, there are a few comments/criticisms I'd like to make.  Mainly because this is my blog and I can totally criticize said personality test when it varies from my own most insightful observations of my dogs.  :P

I was a bit surprised that there were no questions regarding leash behavior, fetching and treat motivation on the test.  I had assumed these behaviors would be part of evaluating fight, pack and prey.  So needless to say, my scores on Maggie were a bit off due to the lack of questions in these areas.

The other issue I had was that it seemed the test assumed a lack of training.  No, my dogs do not get into the trash or counter surf.  That's because they're trained not to.  No, my dogs do not jump up on people.  That's because they're trained not to (OK, Maggie sometimes jumps up but we're forever working on curbing that behavior).  If the test were a bit longer, I think these questions would have had a place and my low scoring on both would have had less of an impact on the overall score.

However, it was still fun.  And it is a free online test so I will just make the assumption that it's about as accurate as us people taking an online IQ test.  Here's how my little pack scored:

Maggie

Drive              My Guess-timate               Actual Score
Prey                 70                                      63
Pack                65                                      64
Fight                55                                      34
Flight               25                                      19

*Not too shabby!  I'm very glad she scored lower on Fight than my predictions but I wish I could attribute it to our rehabilitation rather than the test being limited in scope.
 
Sadie
Drive              My Guess-timate               Actual Score
Prey                 65                                      43
Pack                100                                    50
Fight                20                                      41
Flight               60                                      48

*What??  I was most incorrect with Sadie?!?!  Methinks this is because her fear issues affect her ranking in each and every area and the test does not take fear-based behavior into consideration.  I am still in stock over the difference in the Pack scoring.  I think I underestimated how much the test would rely upon people interaction, rather than actual pack interaction in determining the score.  Since she is afraid of new people, this had a significant impact on her score.

Hurley
 
Drive              My Guess-timate               Actual Score
Prey                40                                       53
Pack               40                                       53
Fight                20                                      38
Flight               10                                      21

*Woot!  Spot on about Prey & Pack being tied.  I was able to answer more questions than anticipated but many were answered with "but that's likely just puppy behavior".  It will be interesting to take this test again once he's a bit more mature and see where he stands.

What did I learn from taking this test?  Well, I learned that no test is perfect and that at the end of the day, we know our dogs best.  We know what makes them tick, their strengths, their weaknesses.  I can't say that this test showed me anything that I didn't know.  While it was just plain amusing to me, it very well could have more value to someone a little less dog-crazy than myself and who is not as aware of canine behaviors and motivations.