08.11.2009 we went with australian cattle dogs Greta and Echo, south-russian sheep dog Jaanu to do the finnish mental assessment test in Anjalankoski. The judges were Pirjo Ojala-Laine and Auli Kiminki.
We drove all in one car to the test place. It was a bit difficult for us, cause Aapo had to be at the boot with Greta and Jaanu. Aapo didnt seem to like Jaanu, well no wonder really, cause she was really furry, like Aapo's favourite playthings. Next time I won't do the same mistake and we'll better travel alone or with familiare dogs, not to stress Aapo that much before the test...
Well we arrived about one hour earlier then our test times should have started, but because the other dogs who did their tests the first half of the day had already finished and judges eaten, they decided we could start doing the tests earlier. Aapo was second estonian dog doing the test. Aapo was waiting his turn not that far from the test site in his kennel. But in conclusion Aapo wasn't in his best condition, he was even a bit discomposed doing the test and the results came out as following:
Capability to function +1 (15p) Moderate
Tendency to aggressive behaviour +1 (1p) Low without post-attack agressiveness
Desire for defence action +1 (1p) Low, controlled
Desire to fight +2 (20p) Moderate
Nerves +1 (35p) Tendency to nervousness
Temperament +3 (45p) High
Mental hardness -2 (- 16p) Soft
Accessibility +3 (45p) Kind, accessibile, open
Shots: ( -) Disposed to shots
RESULTS: 146 points and Aapo didn't pass it, because he was disposed to shots. The dog will past the test when its total points are at least +75 and it has got positive rank (at least +1) from the following features: tendency to aggressiveness, nerves, accessibility and reaction to shots.
I was almost satisfied how Aapo reacted in the beginning, but still he wasn't quite himself, not that confident and energetic than I was looking to get out of him. Aapo was a bit unglued the all day. I was surprised how quickly the test ended actually, it lasted about 10-15 minutes all together.
Now later on I'm the most displeased to myself that I hadn't familiarized Aapo with the situation where dog is on the leash and left alone stuck on the house-wall or what ever thing, cause seeingly Aapo was really confused of the situation and didn't know what happened, so he tried to get off the leash and even choked himself. All that just locked his mind and he got in panic, so later on it was shown while doing the shot part, i believe, especially cause Aapo has never given before any attention to the shots. But in the end I believe the pressure got him and thats why he didn't pass the test. But in the other hand again the shots weren't at all that loud as I would have been imagined - they were much louder then I was expecting. Usually there is 2 shots, but the judges weren't sure and did 3 shots for Aapo.
As the judges said, we can always try to do the test again, but not earliest then 6 months. In the moment I don't plan to do the test again that soon. I will let Aapo recover, mature and let him find himself more as well, so later on I will see if and when we will do the test or similar test again.. Either way I was pleased to try to do the test with Aapo. It was really interesting and again I could read more about Aapo, so I know of what are or could be his weakpoints and what should I pay attention in his training later on.
Videos of the mental test:
The reason and my aim to do the mental test for Aapo without any previous special training (as a blank page) was to have an objective and honest overview of Aapo’s mental stage to compare later the results with other Finnish smoothies, to know where Aapo suites compared to them. Unfortunately there aren’t that many smoothies in Estonia and there a lot of in Finland, so the test should give a good overview what kind of wood is Aapo made of. And as I found out Aapo is in the moment just too soft and is disposed to shots - but these are the facts to handle and work with now on...
Picture done by Eve Ojavere.
Picture done by Eve Ojavere.
Picture done by Teija Lehtoranta.