| For
all dogs a good reliable temperament is a prime requirement
and it is all the more important with our giants: the more they
are big the more they are potentially dangerous.
The standards of our two breeds say respectively
:
•
IWH – Behaviour
/ temperament « Lambs
at home, lions in the chase ».
•
DH – Temperament
« Obedient
and easy to train because eager to please. Docile and good
tempered, never suspicious, aggressive or nervous. Carries
himself with quiet dignity ».
In 1998, the French
Kennel Club (S.C.C.) asked the breed clubs to include
a practical test in their quotation
systems – in addition to the show results –
either a working trial or a character test, which would also
be required for the ratification of the French Champion title.
Accordingly R.A.L.I.E. organised its first character testing
session the day before the Breed Show of 13 September 1998.
The Character Test
The test aims to evaluate the behaviour of
the dog facing some distinctive situations of ordinary life
and to reveal if ever a profound balance or an anxious nature
with the individual. Fear or aggressiveness are very difficult
to hide away, even by regular training.
Practical organisation
The owner and his dog follow a circuit which
contains usual situations :
a. Sociability towards
other dogs (owner and dog walk between several pairs (owner/dog)
positioned in quincunx.
b. Sociability towards
humans (meeting with a group of people, chatting loudly,
challenging the owner and surrounding the dog).
c. Behaviour facing an
unexpected situation (at first a plastic bottle plenty
of gravel is shacked at the passing of owner and dog, then
an umbrella suddenly opens in front of the tested dog).
The
test is rated to 20 points, and to pass the test, the dog
must obtain at least 12 points, between 10 and 12 he is referred
and refused with less than 10 points.
CSAU
(Certificate of Sociability and Aptitude to Work)
The CSAU
permits to ascertain the poise and the outgoing temperament
of the dog and the control exerted by the handler. The CSAU
was instaured to comply with external requirements (legislator
– public) and to stop the anti-dog campaigns and give
a positive image of the dog.
The CSAU is the first probative test before passing any other
working test. Any dog, be it registered with the Kennel Club
or not, may pass it. The minimum age required to pass the
test is 10 months.
Description
of the Test
a.
Stable and outgoing temperament : the handler
passes the dog to an unknown person, moves off some steps
and comes back.
b.
Control of the tattoo : may be part of the
test.
c.
Noise : it’s up to the judge to decide
(no gun-shot).
d.
Walking on the lead : the dog should not pull
(a slight tension is allowed).
e.
Absence of the handler : the handler puts
the dog in the position « sit » or « down
».
f.
He stays away behind a hiding place for 30 seconds
and finds the dog again in the same place and position.
g.
Calling off : the handler lets the dog lie
down, walks away some twenty paths and recalls the dog.
h.
The dog should come back to the handler (within
15 seconds and a radius of 2 m). |
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