When a family decides to adopt a dog, many decisions must be made about preferred size, gender, breed and temperament. What many people don’t consider, however, is the reliability – or lacktherof – of temperament tests.
A 3-day-old boy was killed when he was attacked by the family pit bull. Reports indicate that the baby was lying in bed with his parents when the dog fatally bit his head. The newborn succumbed to his injuries. The dog had recently been rehomed after passing a temperament test at a local shelter.
A similar instance occurred when a recently adopted pit bull killed a 6-year-old North Carolina boy. This dog had also past a temperament test at a shelter before being rehomed.
These incidents call into question the reliability of such tests, and the responsibility animal shelters have to the families adopting these dogs. State-of-the-art temperament tests were developed to help destigmatize breeds like pit bulls and Rottweillers, but they aren’t considered to be very reliable. The test results can depend greatly upon who is administering them. Dogs are unpredictable animals who have very strong instincts to override when they feel threatened. Even the most beloved family pet can turn vicious when it feels threatened.
Temperament test results are just one piece of a complex puzzle. Families need to be warned about the potential for danger when adopting dangerous breeds – particularly when the dog has violent behavior in their background.
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