Behavior Questionnaires

spiritdogs

 Some behaviors are learned behaviors, and transmit from the dam to the puppies - also to rule out any behavioral consequences from genetic disorders. 

Akitas and Beagles both have given me plenty of evidence of the genetics of behavior. There is a specific greeting that one of my bitches gives only to small puppies. Both her daughters have that same greeting and offer it only to small puppies. It's amazing...every nuance of the behavior is identical.

They'd never seen a small puppy up til Nonnie had hers...their greetings with other dogs of other ages are completely different. Nonnie's older daughter had a completely different reaction to small puppies. These girls were definitely exhibiting a genetic behavior they got from their Mom. I think in this case a cute one...but I could see in other cases not so good things being passed along, like ear sucking, or OCD behaviors.

 Well, you could have just said that, snownose, then I would be agreeing with you.  But, it is not always the case, in fairness to owners who do have a dog with a screw loose.  Most of the time, though, my recommendations are for some kind of role reversal for the owner and dog.

Gina, I couldn't help but laugh at your list of awful behaviors - Beagle owners would consider ear sucking to be a big no no lol. 

I think it's a good questionnaire. 

As for the sire/dam/littermate stuff...I don't see why it's such a big deal?  If the owner doesn't know, they don't have to answer.  Fact of the matter is, a lot of people have dogs from breeders and do know the health and temperament history of the sire and dam.  I don't see why it's so bad to get as complete a picture as possible if that information is available.  Certain behavioral tendencies are genetic (for example, drive and nerves in German Shepherds), not to mention genetic health conditions that could easily affect behaviors.

Liesje

As for the sire/dam/littermate stuff...I don't see why it's such a big deal? 

Another scenario where info on the sire may be helpful is if the pup came from a friend or neighbor, even if it was an oops litter, where the owner would have had alot more contact with/knowledge of the sire. In some cases I'm sure the owner is able to give quite alot of info on the temperament of both parents.

I did not have all that much contact with Ripleys parents, but I did meet them both twice and I found meeting the sire to be very helpful. I was able to see that both parents were outgoing and friendly, and in fact all of the breeders dogs were. I consider that to be a big deal in a breed where timidity and shyness is a common fault. When we met Ripleys dad he jumped straight up in the air about five feet. The breeder went on to tell us that he had several agility titles and that was part of why she chose him as a stud. She had him demonstrate some of his tricks, and since we were interested in a dog we could do agility and trick training with, we considered that to be a bonus. Ripley has turned out to be an extremely trainable dog, and he does the same five foot jump.

Now that info may be more useful to a buyer than a behaviorist, but I would still think knowing that both parents were outgoing and not timid would be helpful, especially if the dog in question had issues with shyness or fears.

Things come up that you don't expect, too, and you can't put every single little thing on your questionnaire..  Example - the person who is concerned about the dog's behavior with only one child in a family.  Then, you find out the kid is autistic.  That has happened to me more than once.  Those are things that I try to figure out from the conversation when I ask about who lives with the dog.

I got information about both my own dog's parents which turned out to be quite helpful.  The breeder really knew his lines and was quite accurate in painting a picture of the family tree:-)) 

And I still think that any and all of the questions are valid and worthy simply because the more info you have, the better, rather just assuming or thinking something is a given. In the case of your work, I would imagine such questionnaires are nigh onto being required. My mom use to say, and this is a direct quote, "the only stupid question is the one that you didn't ask." Meaning, there are no stupid questions.

I would think, too, as you have somewhat referenced, the interview process with the list of questions helps to get a reading, as it were, on the owners. Often, people are contradictory and deception comes easy, even to one's self. For example, you mentioned that one of the most telling answers is why did the owner pick this particular breed. It says more about the owner, of course, than anything else. Plus, what is the behavior and why is that a problem (excluding biting and overtly aggressive behavior)? How have they addressed the issue thus far?

And I, for one, appreciate getting to see part of the process of your job even though I am not a dog professional. It must be arduous, especially for owners who are at their wits' end.

They might not remember it explicitly (but then again they might, dogs have amazing memories), but that certainly doesn't mean it won't have a lasting effect.

The research on infants and children growing up having behaviour issues directly caused BY (not correlated with, but caused by) things that happened during infancy is astounding. These people will have no memory whatsoever of what "caused" their problem, but it won't make their problem any less real. The same goes for most mammals and animals that have memories.

 Pups are at their most crucial time for instilling behaviour issues WHILE they are in their first 3 months of life! This is the time when you CAN create lifelong behaviour problems. This is the time when one-trial learning can have its worst effects, when trauma occurs to a pup (physical, social, or emotional) that will carry out through most, if not all of, that puppy's life.

 Coming from a breeder, you can never underestimate the power of genetics. There are certain traits that go down lines of dogs that you wouldn't possibly be able to believe without seeing them firsthand. We've got five generations of a line of dogs in our home at this time, and wouldn't you believe the things that come out of that? And there is no explanation other THAN genetics.

I don't know about "most breeders", but responsible breeders are only too happy to let people see their males as often and as long as people need to. Our males and females share living space together (except when girls are in heat). So when people come to visit, they are visiting ALL of the dogs - males and females alike (of course the sire is not always your own dog, so that is a bit different, but you should be only too happy to give references and the contact info of the sire's owner). We've also had males that have had a lot of interaction with their litters. Whether or not they "realize" it's their litter is beyond me, except that depending on the breeder, and the breed, males can have a huge impact on the behavioural development of puppies.

Perhaps it's because I have done ample studying in terms of canine neonatal care, development, and growth in all forms (physical, emotional, mental, social, etc), I'd be wary if something did NOT ask questions about the pup's origins and both parents. Early puppyhood is one of the definiing points of the rest of an animal's life. That's why there is so much research and emphasis put on how long litters stay together, what types of environmental enrichment they get, what types of interactions should be avoided, how to aid a puppy's growth without pushing it too far, etc. Canine development is just as complex as human child development. When you get a dog from a breeder who not only has vast knowledge of genetics, but also has an inherent understanding of the importance of the proper raising of pups and their litters, you'll see the effects of responsible breeding. To me the KEY to responsible breeding is in the knowledge of just such things, not just having Champions and ribbons. I would invest much more time into ensuring I'm helping to create and mold the best dogs that I possibly could.

 At any rate, huge thanks for sharing this list of questions. I always find it interesting to read different questionnaires and see what types of Q's different people are investigating. Very insightful!