Why do we useTemperament Tests

When a new dog arrives at a shelter the usual procedure is to temperament test the dog by an "expert". These tests consist of a series of routine and prejudiced trials that will be the deciding factor of whether or not the dog is to be euthanized. This test involves touching and probing the dog in uncomfortable areas that provoke and agitate many dogs ( paws, tail, and ears), taking food away in the midst of being eaten, and the reaction to intense sounds are some of the criteria that is used. I believe that these tests are breed biased and set the dog up to fail before given a chance to prove that he/she could one day be adoptable. For example, I was in the shelter and the person in charge of testing labeled a dog that was forty pounds under normal weight as food aggressive. The dog was found chained to a tree and you could count her ribs from fifty feet away. The dog was given a bowl of food and as the dog was eating it the "expert" swiped it away, and the dog growled and snapped. The "expert" advised that this dog should be put to sleep immediately. If you were on the streets starving to death, not knowing where and when your next meal would come from, wouldn't you fight for it? I would say there is something wrong with the dog if she didn't snap. Well, that was three weeks ago and I have been working very closely with this dog and now she is on her way to becoming adopted. Dogs are mammals just like us and even though we perceive the world through different eyes we still have many similarities. A five minute test should never be the definitive determination of the destruction of an innocent life.