AKC TEMPERAMENT TEST

The AKC ATT tests how a dog reacts to a variety of stimuli. Desirable traits are that the dog will be emotionally stable, inquisitive, cooperative, appropriately social for its breed, biddable and demonstrates the ability to recover from a startling situation in a reasonable amount of time.

Undesirable traits are fear, shyness, lack of cooperation and an inability to recover from unfamiliar or unexpected situations. Examples of undesirable behaviors include being afraid of friendly strangers or unfamiliar stimuli, obsessive barking, and aggression.

In the ATT, dogs are tested in 6 categories of stimuli that include:

  1. Social
  2. Auditory
  3. Visual
  4. Tactile
  5. Proprioceptive (motion)
  6. Unexpected stimulus

Temperament has been defined as an animal’s personality, makeup, disposition, or nature.  A longer definition of temperament is “individual differences in behavior that are biologically based.”  Temperament is not the physical characteristics of a dog, and it is not learned behaviors such as sit, down and stay.  Learn more about Why Take the AKC Temperament Test.  Debi is an AKC Temperment Test judge and can help you in preparing your dog to take the test.