Hi, I've just had a potential puppy buyer want to do a Volhard test on my 5 week old pup when she comes to view.
I've heard of this test before and have just swotted up on google to remind me of how it's done, does anyone have any experience of this test, or any thoughts on credibility? I'd be interested to hear others opinions on this.

Just had a read of the whole idea and the conditions stipulated for testing, some of the conditions are

"    The testing is done in a location unfamiliar to the puppies. This does not mean they have to taken away from  home.  A 10-foot square area is perfectly adequate, such as a room in the house where the puppies have not been."

and

" There are no other dogs or people, except the scorer and the tester, in the testing area "

No way would I let two total strangers have access to any of my litter, in an area away from me and the rest of the litter.    They could be out of the door with the pup in seconds and no way of stopping them!   In my case there would be a huge problem finding a room/area that the pup had not been in, being house pups and having access to all the ground floor as part of their socialisation and education - and there's no way I'd let strangers upstairs into our bedrooms!

In addition, I believe that the breeder is best placed to know the character of the pups and which one is likely to suit which new family, as the breeder sees the pups under all conditions.   The test mentions tail up or down as part of the scoring/results, but doesn;t take into account the natural set of some breed's tails or the way a pup's tail can droop when it's tired.   Anyone testing the pups wouldn't know if one/all was tired from rampaging all morning or just very docile or shy!

Just MHO ;)

As an aside - The last litter I bred, I had some show friends to a puppy choosing party, I had two bitches to choose from and very little between them.    They all agreed with my pick as the best pup (without knowing she was my pick), but were concerned that she might not be outgoing enough or have the stamina for showing, as she was very quiet and wouldn't go to anyone and fought to get away from them when handled.   She had spent the whole morning rampaging about and had literally worn herself out.   I kept her and she's known as the 'Pocket Rocket' and the 'Trollop' after she thoroughly snogged the judge at her first show outing.  Shes so sociable and outgoing it's embarassing  :-D

That was my thoughts about being alone with my pup, although I didn't think of stealing it I thought about not being able to see it to see what they were up to, and whether anything unpleasant ie: the umbrella test would have lasting effects.
The test also says the test should be carried out on the 49th day, mine will only be 35 days, they're good but they can't retrieve!!
The couple said they don't want an "overly alpha male, or very submissive one, just normal"
They only have the 1 pup to view as others are all booked and he's pretty "normal" to me. We'll just have to wait and see now.

The breeders I have got a pup from, used this test or something similar. Although there were some difference between the boy pups, all the girls scored exactly the same, there appeared to be very little difference between them all apparently. They were planning to allocate the pups to their families on the basis of this test, the outgoing one to a family with older children and the quieter one to the the older couple etc, but ended up saying to me to choose from the four girls available. In the end I went on instinct and advice on charecter from the breeders wife who had spent practically every waking moment with the puppies. The test showed that my pup was supposed to have a low prey drive as she didn't chase a ball, well she does now and with a lot of determination. She also nearly gobbled down a poor unfortunate bird that flew into the patio doors and collapsed onto the patio. My OH said he couldn't believe the speed at which she moved to grab the bird and try to swallow it before he managed to get it off her.

Forgot to add she is ten weeks old today and a gundog breed.

We do use aptitude testing as another tool to help place puppies with their owners. We do it at 7 weeks and have someone experienced in our (complicated gundog) breed and the test to come and do it, not potential owners or a stranger to us. The pups have always been fine with the process, it's just another game to them.

We've found it usually matches with our own observations of the pups and tallies with how they turn out and it can be useful in highlighting a puppy who's more sensitive to sound for example. Owners can then be aware of this.

We usually find that the potential owners preferred pup is the one that proves most suitable for them going by both the test and our observations of their character and our owners have been very pleased with our allocation process.

I have done"Volhard"type testing on puppies & unless the person doing the testing is familar with the breed(ie knows any particular character traits etc) & handling puppies then they are not suitable for testing the litter. I always have the breeder supervising the testing & certainly would not want to be on my own with a helper(not known to the puppies) IMHO it is important for the breeder to observe the testing so they can see how each puppy reacts.

Five weeks is too early to do a"Volhard"test anyway, the Volhard's recommended ideal time is 7 weeks

From a puppy buyer I would like to add to this post....

My last dog was high prey drive and we live in an area surrounded by wildlife.Grey heron ,rabbits and deer abound on the local fields.Cats are rife around our home.My dog even jUmped a four foot high hedge to chase a neighbors cat and ended up in angry neighbors  home,jumping at cat on her kitchen worksurface....sorry ,sorry,sorry......I could never allow her into my front garden after that,whilst i trimmed my roses . She was banned to the back garden whilst my other dog could stay with me in the front....not goodThat was a loss to me and to her..
this has made my life very difficult for thirteen years,living with a high prey drive dog.
  So when she passed,I asked my next breeder for a laid back pup,of low prey drive.What a delight and a difference this has been. He has zero prey drive...today at the market he rubbed noses with rabbits for sale,looked at the hens,turkey chicks etc without a fuss. The cats pass my garden and he  just looks on....what a delight.

I was very honest with the breeder and spelt out my problems with the environment in which I live...she listened to me and I feel my new pup and I are a perfect match.A good breeder knows her pups temperaments inside out..I  would rely on that  over a test  which depends on a stranger evaluating a pup who may be  up or down,on the day.

Forgot to add

Are the people exerts in the breed, handling puppies, and also 'experts' in Volhard testing?   or are they just using the info on the 'net' to 'have a go' and experiment on your puppy?  Since the pup will be too young anyway

This would also influence me,

But don't let yourself be intimidated by a puppy buyer ;)

Thanks for your replies.
The potential owner has had a few of my breed over the years. I think it's what they've read on the net to be honest, the puppy I am showing them certainly isn't a shy boy, he's quite forward and boisterous, however out of the other puppies he's not the most dominant, he loves a cuddle and happily let's me cut his nails etc.
I think they've probably had a dominant dog in the past and this has made them wary this time. Although obviously a lot of different characters are apparent in the whole litter at this stage I also think how you bring the puppy up has a lot to do with the sort of adult you're going to get. He's still too young for them go get any definitive results as he's only going to be 5 weeks when they test him and the test should be done at 49 days.
I'm certainly not going to be intimidated by them, if they think he's right but I think they're wrong then they're not having him.

The breeders I test for are all well aware of their puppies characters etc, however it is reassuring for them when the tests back up what they already know. We compare "notes" afterwards & 99% of the time we totally agree

An"independant"assessment/test call it what you like is not always needed when they breeders are very experienced, but if someone has had a dog that wasn't right for them in the past, then it can help in making the right decision the next time round.

My pups were recently tested in this way. They were done at 7 weeks (are now 9 weeks and gone to their homes ;-) ) It isn't just the testing that you have to understand, it is how to interpret it. You can very easily misinterpret what the pup was doing. There is usually one or two things that make you sit up and say, hmm, ok, need to work on that with this particular pup, but usually it is just as the breeder has already noticed. If neither you nor the potential owner have done this testing before then I wouldn't bother with it. My tester has been doing it for years so was able to help me figure out each test.