Character test

CHARACTERTEST General

Charactertest is an official test under SKL-FKK rules.
Before a dog can enter the test it has to:

- be purebred and registered in SKL-FKK register (mongrels are not tested).

- be at least 2 years old and not older than 7 years.

- be ID-marked (tattoo or microchip).

- have its registration papers with him in the test.

In the test two judges, who are trained for this, are judging the behaviour of the dog in different circumstances that are unusual for him.

The following characteristics of the dog are measured in the test:

1 CAPABILITY OF ACTING, vigour, energy (coefficient 15)

This measures the courage that the dog shows when he is put in a situation which confuses or scares him and how well he can act rationally when left on his own in these kind of situations.

2 SHARPNESS, keenness (1)

This tells us if the dog shows any agressiveness towards an unknown threat and how strong his reaction is if he has a reaction.

3 WILL TO DEFEND (1)

This grade shows the innate will of the dog to defend his "pack" (owner) that is being threatened.

4 FIGHTING SPIRIT, desire to fight (10)

This is typical of working (police) dogs. It is an inborn desire in a dog to use his teeth and bodily strength in a gamelike tug-of-war sort of play.

5 NERVE STRUCTURE (35)

This is the most important grade in the test. It shows how much pressure the dog can take without his nerves breaking down.

6 TEMPERAMENT (15)

This shows how well the dog notices what is going on around him, how much he wants to be part of his surroundings.
Basically: how lively the dog is.

7 TOUGHNESS, hardness, sternness (8)

This describes the tendency of a dog to remember the unpleasant events that have happened to him. A soft dog will not enter a situation that once before has frightened him. A hard/tough dog, however, is able to forget the unpleasantness and he is not disturbed again in a similar situation.

8 APPROACHABILITY (15)

This grade describes how well the dog lets an unknown (to him) person come near him and handle him. At best the dog is open and friendly towars this person without being ingratiating.

The last characteristic tested is NOICE TOLERANCE. It tests if the dog reacts and in what way to sudden noises (gun shots).

Each part is judged separately and is given points (3, 2, 1, -1, -2, -3). Every part has a coefficient to give it weight when putting the total score together. In these weights, the importance of this characteristic to the outcome, are taken into consideration. It is important to the outcome when the score is high and if it is low it can also mean that this is something you can train the dog for (the test can be manipulated).
To pass the test the dog has to have at minimum +75 points, at least +1 on parts 2, 5 and 8 and +-mark on the noise tolerance test. (That is judged by + or - , meaning: no marked reaction/some uneasiness or gun shy.)
The maximum score is 300 but the best dog for an average owner has test score between 100 and 200.

And what sort of a test did Jonni have...?(Read ALL about it!)

(Text and pictures from : Jorma Lankinen 1998-2002. Suomalainen luonnetesti. Luonnetestin esittely. Luonnetestisäännöt ja arvosteluohje. Yleistä testistä.)