Describing categories of temperament in potential guide dogs for the blind

Julie A Murphy

Describing categories of temperament in potential guide dogs for the blind

Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Volume 58, Issues 1–2, June 1998, Pages 163–178

Abstract

Trainers at the Royal Guide Dogs Associations of Australia (RGDAA) assess 12-month-old potential guide dogs for 20 categories of temperament after walking and observing each dog over 5 days in increasingly complex environments. The present study investigated how trainers interpret these temperament categories from the canine behaviour observed. Dogs were videotaped by the author on their final assessment walk. Trainers who had no prior knowledge of the dogs on the videotapes observed the tapes and pointed out segments which, in their opinion, showed dogs expressing particular categories of temperament. One hundred and two segments of tape were isolated and examined in detail. The elements of behaviour observed in each segment were noted. Descriptions or `indicator sets' were determined for nine temperament categories. Each set lists the elements of behaviour shown by dogs in 60%–69%, 70%–79% and ≥80% of cases. Indicator sets were not determined for categories that were rarely identified by trainers, rarely observed in dogs, or which could not be assessed from a single videotaped walk. Although each indicator set was unique, some elements of behaviour were common to more than one set. Therefore, it is best to interpret temperament categories from many elements of behaviour rather than just one or two. If adopted by other guide dog associations, the indicator sets derived from this study may be useful in standardising the identification and assessment of temperament categories of potential guide dogs by avoiding anthropomorphism or misinterpretation of dogs' behaviour.