Gladystar Poodles

… by the whims of puppies. The whole previous week the puppies always were very active mid-morning. So, all us humans set the PPPP testing time for 10:30 AM. Well, come testing day the pups were zonked out completely all the while we planned on testing, which we went ahead and did anyways. Big mistake!

This is how the PPPP went: I picked up a puppy out of the sleeping pile, walk over to the clean garage where the puppies have never been before, and place the puppy on the floor, the pup would look around dazed as if still sleeping. Rosanne, the tester, would coax them over but sometimes the pups wouldn’t move. It went down hill from there. Some of the tests, the pups were just lumps and showed no reaction which is totally not these puppies.

So, this time the test did not reflect the real personality these puppies. I still believe in the Volhard test but in this case it was poor execution and timing on our part. Next time, I’ll have a plan B.

I thought about re-testing them but that woudln’t be quite the same as now they had a practice round. Plus, it’d be real hard for me to find someone the puppies haven’t met by now. We’ll do some other testing, a subset of the Volhard tests, when the puppies new owners are here to help pick the right puppy for them.

This is the third time we’ve done the Volhard test. Once before on a friends litter, and on our first (and only other) litter. So, I’m suprised to not have noticed this before but there are overlapping categories on the touch sensitivity test. How does one select between catagories like 2-3 and 3-4 if the seconds were three? It could be scored either a 1 or a 2. That can lead to mis-leading scores depending on how consistent the evaluator is.

Another thing I thought should change on the touch sensitivity test is using the webbing of the feet to ‘pinch’. Our Poodles have been getting their nails clipped every other day or so since they were three days old. And, the Bio-Sensor training we do includes touching between there toes everyday until they’re 18 days old. Just about every Poodle handles as hard of a pinch the tester can deliver. Poodles are not that insensitive. Maybe using a different body part for the pinch test would be more represntative of the touch sensitivity.

Next litter, I’m going to teach the Pups how to tell time so they know when we humans have something scheduled.

Ok, Ok, so the Poodle Puppy Proficiency Profile uses the same forms and scoring as the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test. The Gladystar Poodles are extra special so the test should have a special Poodley name. The Volhard test has been in use for decades and is a very helpful tool in determining puppy home placement.

This coming Wednesday, the 49th day for the puppies, we’re going to administer the Volhard test to the litter. Friends Rosanne Aman and Elaine Gauthier are coming over to be the tester and evaluator. The puppies have never met Rosanne or Elaine. The garage will have to be cleaned up a bit. That space was purposely avoided when bringing the puppies out to the car. So, it’ll be a new and unfamilar place for them. So that’s the set-up for the test. It’s kind of interesting to see the puppies reaction to the different parts of the test. You can read more about it at the link above.

I’m betting that all the puppies score very similar to our last litter - Klara’s litter that produced Orchid. All those puppies scored either 3’s or 4’s. Here’s how Volhard scoring describes puppies with 3’s or 4’s:

“Mostly 3’s -
Can be a high-energy dog and may need lots of exercise
Good with people and other animals
Can be a bit of a handful to live with
Needs training, does very well at it and learns quickly
Great dog for second time owner.

Mostly 4’s -
The kind of dog that makes the perfect pet Best choice for the first time owner.
Rarely will buck for a promotion in the family
Easy to train, and rather quiet.
Good with elderly people, children, although may need protection from the children
Choose this pup, take it to obedience classes, and you’ll be the star, without having to do too much work!

Getting those perfect Poodle personalities is hard work but very satisfying, especially when Gladystar Puppy owners remark “he’s a perfect Poodle”.