A new adventure awaited Malina’s puppies, we did the six week puppy test with them.
The test always has an exciting start: one by one the puppies step into a place that is completely unknown to them. A new environment, new person, unfamiliar objects and surprising sounds wait for them there. Here at the Baráthegyi Guide Dog School, we have been doing the six week test for many years because we are curious to see the useful information we get about the puppies’ personalities and temperament.
Alone in the unknown
The puppies solve the playful tasks completely on their own. Of course, this is unusual for them since they haven’t been apart from their siblings for even a little time until now. This is when we can see how they react to new situations: how long it takes to self-regulate, whether they start exploring the environment, do they seek the company of humans and whether they follow the unknown person. The specialists create several different situations. “For example, we examine how the puppy reacts when we put them on a table or touch them to inspect their ears, eyes, teeth. Sudden noise, unfamiliar objects or perhaps a moving musical dog toy can test their curiosity. There are also playful tasks: do they run after the ball, go through the tunnel, or try to eat the dog food hidden under a cup? – our trainer Királyné Barkóczi Emese said.
No one passes, no one fails
The puppy test doesn’t have a result. The point isn’t to find out which puppy has “good” or “bad” traits, nor is it to predict which puppies will become guide dogs and which will pursue other paths. We are curious to see how they act in a new situation and what sort of support they require. For example if a puppy is more sensitive to noise, then we need to pay more attention to this aspect while raising the puppy, to help their development with this in mind. Out of Malina’s puppies a few of them do not calmly tolerate petting and being inspected more thoroughly. They need to learn that inspecting their ears, eyes and teeth is a natural thing and it is worthwhile to cooperate in these situations.
New knowledge also helps us find the most suitable family to raise each puppy. Some would benefit more from an experienced volunteer, and others would prefer a family with lots of children or having another dog to grow up with.
“There were puppies who explored the world bravely, and those who were more careful, but all of them progressed on the same path. In the coming months, they will gather more experiences with the help of their puppy raiser families. They will get progressively closer to one day becoming a guide dog and helping ease the life of future visually impaired owners.” – said Komondi Piroska, our foundation’s leader of breeding and animal well-being.
We have written about Malina’s puppies before, here. And you can view their name giving video here:
Earlier we wrote about Szamóca and their siblings’ puppy tests. Furthermore, we took part in the RTL Club with the puppy test.
Support opportunities
Every individual who contributes to the training of guide dogs through their support is important to us. We announce with great pleasure that even companies are making this decision now.
If you would like to take part in more guide dog couples starting their journeys together, then there are several ways you can support us.
Our central bank account number:
OTP Bank – 11734004-20466859
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