I will be blogging this week on the hunt test assessment. I would like to thank those who have sent videos of their assessment attempts; it shows me what I need to do to make the process standardized for everyone.
The reason this test is important is that it is a test validated across 600 dogs bred by TSA and thousands of dogs in what was the Australian Customs Service National Breeding and Development Centre. The test was designed through a dissertation done by Dr Kath Champness of the University of Melboune in cooperation with ACS NBDC. The director of the dissertation was Dr Rolf Beilharz (shown above with his wife, a preeminent expert in quantitative selective breeding in working canines).
We will be able to compare your dogs’ scores with a database that contains the scores of 600+ dogs throughout their development. I will attach some of the research papers that used this testing for various perspectives on performance assessment. I will post those papers on the Assessment page under Scott’s Publications. I will see if I can have you upload your videos to Drobox as a temporary site for consistent cataloging. Additionally, Molly and I will run Task through the test the end of next week (weather permitting).