ATTS (TT) - Anyone done it?

I've taken a dog through one, and it was very interesting. Definitely worthwhile.

It's not meant to be something that you practice for really. Like the umbrella test, this should be a situation they have never experienced before. The test is about assessing your dog's instinctive behaviors.

samshine

It's not meant to be something that you practice for really. Like the umbrella test, this should be a situation they have never experienced before. The test is about assessing your dog's instinctive behaviors.

Yeah that's the vibe I got while reading though it!  I will test her with a gun though.  I'm not driving 2.5 hours each way and paying for the test only to find out for the first time that she is gun shy.  She actually has seen an umbrella, as our trainer did it once or twice as a demo for what to expect on the CGC (she didn't care).

One thing I wondered about....if you cannot give the dog any commands, how do you get the dog to heel with you and then stop at certain points?  Or is the dog simply wandering loose while they do the distractions?

My big concern is that the test I'm looking at is at a SchH club/police academy.  It appears like the test makes allowances for breed, especially the protection test.  I'm concerned that they will expect a certain level of aggression and protective drive that Kenya does not have b/c we have not trained that way (yet) and I have never encouraged that type of behavior.

I'd be really, really interested to see it, before I took it. I think Emma might fail. She's overprotective, and may be too aggressive to the threatening stranger. I know her hackles would raise and she'd at least growl.

And she's not gun shy. We've worked through her noise issues, pretty well. Umbrellas are fine, weird surfaces are fine, she loves petting. Shaking hands with a stranger is fine.

It's kind of like a super CGC. It would be a good title to have.... Hmmm. 

jennie_c_d

I'd be really, really interested to see it, before I took it. I think Emma might fail. She's overprotective, and may be too aggressive to the threatening stranger. I know her hackles would raise and she'd at least growl.

The way I read the test, I *think* hackles and growling might still pass.  It sounded like for that item, the dog would be more likely to fail if it showed fear and did not recover.  However, it sounds like the stranger is never closer than 18 feet?  I wonder how threatening it really is...

She may bark or lunge, depending on how threatening it is, and how the stars are aligned. I haven't known her to lunge on a leash, but I haven't ever really had anybody approach us in a threatening manner, either.  It would at least be really interesting to see her response. There are two within "sort of" driving distance in the next two years. If there are other opportunities to show in the area on the same weekend, I might consider it. One is only 3 hours away (which I can handle). The other is 5, and that's a rougher ride, especially for something I'm unsure of.

Did it with our Mtzee last year and she passed, will do it again this year with at least 4 of my dogs I think it is one of the MOST important tests we can do for our dogs especially if they are Breeding stock.  It is designed to allow the elvaluater to see how well your dog functions in different situations. for expample they pop open an umbrella, it is fine for the dog to back away , BUT they must then go forward and check it out, just to assure them selves it is not a scary thing.  You can train your dog for this easily by having treats in the umbrella and popping it open at different times by different folks once she investigates she is treated.  again they have a bucket of rocks that are rattled , the dog may shy but afterwards must peek into thte bucket to determine what it holds.... A dog who is bright and well trained can deal with life as the modren world throws at it, a dog who is sheltered and unsocialized will NEVER pass this test.  They do it very , very limitedly in the US and seriously I think it is a wonderful test worth the training and small cost.

They must be 2 years and can be re tested many times if you need to work on special things.   A CGC is WONDERFUL , but before a breeder even considereds using a dog in their breeding program they should know the dog has a temperament worth passing along. the ATTS gives you a much better guage.

Bonita of Bwana

Bonita, how scary are the threatening people?  

Liesje

One thing I wondered about....if you cannot give the dog any commands, how do you get the dog to heel with you and then stop at certain points?  Or is the dog simply wandering loose while they do the distractions?

My big concern is that the test I'm looking at is at a SchH club/police academy.  It appears like the test makes allowances for breed, especially the protection test.  I'm concerned that they will expect a certain level of aggression and protective drive that Kenya does not have b/c we have not trained that way (yet) and I have never encouraged that type of behavior.

They don't heel. Just walking with the dog on lead is all that is necessary. They want to see how your dog reacts when they are NOT under any commands.

There is no pass or fail on this test, so I think you are over thinking it. When your dog responds to the stimulus, they give you a number rating that corresponds to the behavior they see. They have no expectations, and they have seen extremes of behavior in every breed already.

Taking the test before any protection training is a truer and more useful bit of information. I personally would prefer to do the test with a dog BEFORE anything like that. If you have done a bunch of training already, then you will wonder how much of what you saw was instinct and what was training.

The only things these results are useful for is your own information about the temperament and instincts of the dog.

I don't remember how it was scored, but I know there is a scale, let's just say it's 1 to 10. For the umbrella test, one would be run away in a panic and never come back to investigate. A ten could be absolutely no startle response at all, or eat the umbrella. People have different ideas on what they want to see in a dog. Someone might want a dog so hard that they hardly even flinch. Someone else might want a dog that is more sensible and will have a good startle response.

For the threatening stranger, the extremes could be total panic and trying to run away, up to totally wanting to dismember the guy on first sight. Some people like me, don't want to see much aggressive behavior. (if I wanted protective I would not have Samoyeds!) Other people do.

The only thing you can say is that generally people want to see dogs with responses somewhere in the middle. And there are exceptions, for certain purposes you might want a response closer to one end or the other in some area.

So just go and do the test, there is no right and wrong. The only one putting values on the scores are you, and you can use that information to pick what kind of training you want to do and how you might approach it.

Bonita of Bwana

You can train your dog for this easily by having treats in the umbrella and popping it open at different times by different folks once she investigates she is treated.  again they have a bucket of rocks that are rattled , the dog may shy but afterwards must peek into thte bucket to determine what it holds.... A dog who is bright and well trained can deal with life as the modren world throws at it, a dog who is sheltered and unsocialized will NEVER pass this test. 

They must be 2 years and can be re tested many times if you need to work on special things.   A CGC is WONDERFUL , but before a breeder even considereds using a dog in their breeding program they should know the dog has a temperament worth passing along. the ATTS gives you a much better guage.

Again, what is the point of the test if you train behaviors before hand and repeat the test? This is not supposed to be about training, it is supposed to be about innate temperament. The response the first time they are exposed to something is the true test of temperament. Training and retesting is about the same as resubmitting borderline dysplastic x-rays over and over and over until you finally get a fair rating.

I saw this test a while back and was intrigued - there's one in a few month about 2.75h away from me, maybe I'll look into it.  Do they do mixed breeds? 

samshine

There is no pass or fail on this test,

Uhm.. according to atts.org there sure is.

So, is it worth getting up at 4am and a 2.5 hour drive each way?