As professional K9 trainers and breeders of Dutch Shepherds, evaluating puppies from seven weeks of age involves a structured aptitude testing process to identify their traits and temperaments. This is how we choose your pup and our process:
#1ST) we go over your application and arrange a phone call with you. Once we are talking on the call mike and I ( Jennifer) will ask you questions about your environment, home life, public life and daily routine your Dutch shepherd puppy will be entering after leaving us. We Will ask what the puppy’s job will be meaning is it a working or non working pup what tasks or jobs will it have and we will go over our Puppy foundation, basic obedience and advanced obedience , family protection, home defense ect) most of this will be added in our application.)
. If you will not be going through us for training we will discuss your options and or refer you to a trusted professional we recommend.
Now for our Aptitude testing process (please note not all of our Aptitude philosophy is in blog as that’s our hard worked thesis I plan to publish in the near future)
The Process
Here's a general outline of how we conduct this evaluation:
1. Initial Health Check
Ensure all puppies are healthy, vaccinated, and dewormed.
2. Observation of Temperament
Socialization: Observe how each puppy interacts with littermates and humans. Look for confidence, playfulness, or shyness.
Curiosity: Assess their willingness to explore new environments and objects.
3. Aptitude Testing
Test for Drive: Evaluate their prey drive through play with toys. Some puppies will be more motivated to chase and retrieve.
Focus and Attention: Use treats or toys to see how well they can maintain focus in a distracting environment.
Sensory Evaluation: Introduce various sounds, textures, and visual stimuli to gauge their reactions.
4. Behavioral Assessments
Stress Responses: Monitor how each puppy reacts to stressors, such as sudden noises or unfamiliar situations.
Problem-Solving Skills: Present simple challenges (like puzzles) to see how they approach and solve problems.
5. Individual Interviews
Conduct one-on-one interactions to evaluate each puppy’s unique personality and adaptability.
6. Ranking and Selection
Based on observations and tests, rank puppies according to their suitability for working or companion roles.
Working Puppies: Typically high drive, confidence, and strong focus.
Non-Working Puppies: More suitable for family settings; may be calmer or less driven.
7. Client Matching
We Discuss findings with clients to ensure the right match between the puppy’s traits and the client’s needs.
Once we have selected a match for you we will be in contact and send photos and videos along the way “ including through our obedience training process)
The final step is pick up , we encourage all our owners to come to our location for pick up we offer puppy foundation training, Group puppy training and bonding and tons of information ℹ️ but if you need ground transportation instead we do off that as well as Remote Dog training: our newest online training program designed for owners to log in and receive a 1 hour or more of Training sessions available daily, or weekly, monthly! We have editional trainers on our team now that can help with anything dog training wise!
8. Ongoing Development
Recommend socialization and training plans to ensure the puppy develops appropriately according to its aptitude.
We always recommend getting foundation training and obedience training, we Highly recommend choosing us for the obedience training because we know our genetics more then anyone we can get training done faster knowing our genetics and we offer several different training options making it easy to choose a training path right for you or your family, and we offer Customized training tailored for your family’s needs!
This structured approach helps ensure that each puppy is placed in an environment where they can thrive, fulfilling both the client's needs and the dog's potential.
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