TEMPERAMENT TESTING & PUPPY MATCHING
Choosing the Right Puppy
Choosing the right puppy is about much more than picking the cutest face from a photo. Every puppy has a unique combination of personality traits, energy level, confidence, and social preferences that make them better suited for certain families and lifestyles. Finding the right match is one of the most important steps in building the lifelong relationship you envision with your dog.
At Harman Corgis, each puppy completes a standardized temperament evaluation at around seven weeks of age. However, the formal evaluation is only one part of our assessment. For weeks leading up to the evaluation, we document each puppy’s behavior and development through daily interactions and structured observations. We carefully observe how they interact with people, littermates, new environments, toys, sounds, and everyday experiences.
We combine these daily observations with the results of the formal temperament evaluation to create a comprehensive temperament profile for every puppy. This profile includes 11 temperament traits, along with each puppy’s natural motivations , areas of focus, and other behavioral tendencies that help us understand them as individuals.
Every family receives a copy of each puppy’s temperament profile along with a guide to help interpret the results. Our goal is to help you understand the puppy’s natural strengths and tendencies, so you select the puppy that fits your family and lifestyle.
TEMPERAMENT TESTING & PUPPY MATCHING
Choosing the Right Puppy
While formal temperament testing is not commonly used by many Pembroke Welsh Corgi breeders, we’ve chosen to evaluate every litter since 2022 because we believe the information helps families make more informed puppy selection decisions.
We were first exposed to the concept of temperament testing through Puppy Culture and Avidog, yet its benefits were controversial. In 2020, we began temperament testing litters that we planned to keep a puppy from. While we did not use the results to select our puppy, we continued to refer back to the testing results as the puppies matured. After 2 years of testing, we concluded that temperament testing was predictive for certain characteristics, and it could be beneficial to our buyers.
Why We Temperament Test
Choosing a puppy is about much more than color, markings, or photos. While every puppy is adorable, not every puppy is the same.
“There is no perfect puppy,
only the puppy that is perfect for you.”
We use formal testing along with daily observations to create a profile for each puppy. We do not identify “correct” or “ideal” scores on characteristics because what may be ideal for one family will not be for another family. Instead, it helps identify temperament traits that can be used by buyers to help them find a puppy that best fits their lifestyle.
For example, a high-energy puppy may be a great match for an avid jogger but will be a poor match for a quiet pet home. While dogs can be trained, they will excel at the things that come naturally to them and make them feel good. This is why certain dogs excel at retrieving or herding while others do not.
Some puppies are naturally more independent, while others prefer to stay close to their people. Some have higher energy levels, while others are calmer and more laid back.
Because these traits can have a significant impact on your daily life, we temperament test every litter to help families choose a puppy that fits their lifestyle and expectations.
What Is Temperament Testing?
Temperament testing is a standardized evaluation performed when puppies are approximately 7 weeks old.
The evaluation takes place in a location that is unfamiliar to the puppies and is conducted by a trained evaluator whom the puppies have never met before.
This helps us observe natural responses rather than behaviors influenced by familiarity with their environment or the people they know.
What Does Temperament Testing Tell Us?
We test and record observations for the following 11 temperament traits plus natural motivations or desires, areas of focus, and other behavioral tendencies.
- Energy Level
- People Assertiveness
- Confidence
- Motivation & Biddability
- Resiliency - how they handle stress
- Touch Sensitivity
- Sound Sensitivity
- Sight Sensitivity
- Prey Drive
- Human Focus
- Dominance or submissive
- Desires
- Focus
- Recall
- Problem Solving
- Patience & attention seeking
What Temperament Testing Doesn't Do
Temperament testing does not predict the future personality of a puppy. Training, socialization, environment, and life experiences all play an important role in your puppy’s development.
However, temperament testing can identify several inherited tendencies that are generally stable throughout life, including energy level, independence, trainability, and willingness to work with people.
How We Use the Results
The process starts with understanding you. We take time to learn about your family, including the energy level you are comfortable with, the people and animals your puppy will share their life with, and the activities you hope to enjoy together.
Whether you envision a relaxed companion, an active adventure partner, or a confident family dog who can comfortably navigate a busy household, these details help us understand the temperament and energy level that may be the best fit for your home and lifestyle.
We provide you with testing results and discuss findings and guidance as needed to help you find a puppy whose individual traits are well-suited to the life you envision sharing together.
Why This Matters
Our goal isn’t simply to help you choose a puppy. Our goal is to help you choose the RIGHT puppy.
We believe a thoughtful match leads to a smoother transition, a stronger bond, and a more enjoyable life together for both the puppy and the family who loves them.
Temperament Testing Is More Than a Single Day
While formal temperament testing is completed at a specific age, approximately 7 weeks of age, we begin observing puppies long before the evaluation takes place.
From the time puppies start interacting with each other and us, we make notes about how they engage with their littermates, adult dogs, and us. We observe how they respond to new experiences, how quickly they recover from challenges, how patient they are, and how they adapt to things like crate training and changes in their environment.
These ongoing observations provide valuable context and help us better understand each puppy as an individual. We try to point out these observations on our weekly YouTube litter video updates for our buyers.
The formal temperament evaluation then gives us an objective snapshot that helps confirm many of the patterns we’ve already observed. Buyers receive a written temperament evaluation including all of our observations and testing results to help them select their puppy.
Nature, Nurture, and Temperament
One of the most important things for families to understand is that not all temperament traits are created equally.
Some characteristics are strongly influenced by genetics and tend to remain relatively stable throughout a dog’s life. Traits such as energy level, independence, focus, and natural trainability often fall into this category.
Other behaviors are influenced more heavily by experience, training, socialization, and confidence-building opportunities.
This distinction is one of the reasons we place so much emphasis on temperament testing and early observation. While training can help a puppy learn new skills and build confidence, it cannot completely change who that puppy naturally is.
Our goal is to help families understand those natural tendencies so they can choose a puppy whose temperament is a good fit for their home and lifestyle.
Traits That Tend to Be More Stable
- Energy level
- Assertiveness with people & other dogs
- Biddability or motivation to work with people
- Courage & self confidence
- What items they focus on
Traits That Can Often Improve With Training & Experience
- Focus on other dogs
- Eye contact
- Following & Recall
- Startling at new sounds
- Responses to unfamiliar objects
- Confidence in new environments
- Leash skills
- Crate training success
- Household manners
Nature, Nurture, and Temperament
One of the most important things for families to understand is that not all temperament traits are created equally.
Some characteristics are strongly influenced by genetics and tend to remain relatively stable throughout a dog’s life. Traits such as energy level, independence, focus, and natural trainability often fall into this category.
Other behaviors are influenced more heavily by experience, training, socialization, and confidence-building opportunities.
This distinction is one of the reasons we place so much emphasis on temperament testing and early observation. While training can help a puppy learn new skills and build confidence, it cannot completely change who that puppy naturally is.
Our goal is to help families understand those natural tendencies so they can choose a puppy whose temperament is a good fit for their home and lifestyle.
Traits That Tend to Be More Stable
- Energy level
- Assertiveness with people & other dogs
- Biddability or natural trainability
- Courage & self confidence
- What items they focus on
- Forgiveness
- Handshyness
Traits That Can Often Improve With Training & Experience
- Focus on other dogs
- Eye contact
- Following & Recall
- Startling at new sounds
- Responses to unfamiliar objects
- Confidence in new environments
- Leash skills
- Crate training success
- Household manners
Why Temperament Matters in a Herding Breed
Pembroke Welsh Corgis were originally developed as herding dogs, and many of the traits that made them successful working dogs are still present today.
While every puppy is an individual, corgis often vary in their natural energy level, environmental awareness, sensitivity to sounds, trainability, independence, and desire to control or direct movement around them.
Some puppies are naturally more laid back and easygoing. Others may be more driven, more vocal, more observant, or more likely to herd children, other pets, or moving objects.
Some puppies may naturally coexist with other household pets, while others may have stronger prey drive or a stronger desire to control interactions with other animals.
Some are content to relax with their families, while others constantly seek additional mental stimulation and activity.
None of these traits are inherently good or bad. However, they can have a significant impact on daily life and are important considerations when selecting a puppy.
A family with young children, cats, or multiple dogs may have different priorities than an experienced dog owner looking for a highly active companion.
Temperament testing and ongoing observations help us identify these tendencies so families can make informed decisions and better prepare for life with their new puppy.
Interested in learning more about how the Pembroke Welsh Corgi’s working heritage influences behavior today? Watch for our upcoming article on the history of the breed and the traits that remain important in modern family companions.