Tazar Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Hi, Hoping to hear from anyone involved in the Responsible Pet Ownership Program in Victoria. What is involved in the temp test for the dog? Also if you passed what was the interview like? many thanks :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainy Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 The temp test was fairly simple If you havce a cool calm dog you should be ok, the interview was ok but i was a bucket of nerves :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazar Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Thanks Rainy, can you reassure the dog verbally during the process? What exactly do they do to 'test' the dog? I think he will fine but I am curious ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 The dog just needs to be chilled out about noise and crowds, so if you have a dog you could easily walk through a busy, noisy market or Ag show, with people reaching out to touch it, the temperament test is easy. To do the job the dog also needs to be able to sit or lie quietly in a crate in the classroom, while you are talking to the kids then come out and stand nice and calm while a selection of kids come up, let the dog sniff their hand then pat the dog. Of course kids are unpredictable so they don't always do what you just taught them and some of them are terrified so the dog has to not react badly to anyone who is scared of them. The dog may also need to be walked through a busy, extremely noisy, playground before school or during lunch, etc. The interview is quite thorough with two nice people so nothing to stress about. The job itself does need a lot of confidence to get up in front of anything from 10 to 100 kids (+ teachers) at a time and basically "put on show". There are semi-scripted 40 min talks with a large picture book or smartboard presentation to talk about. You may do 1-3 presentations in a day at a school. You need to engage the kids, get them to sing a song and do actions with you and at training you have to do all this in front of the other trainees. I had a ball doing this job, it was so much fun and would love to be fit enough to go back to it but am recovering from injuries from a car accident at present. So basically if you and your dog could do the job, then you will most likely find the temperament test and interview fairly straightforward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Thanks Rainy, can you reassure the dog verbally during the process? What exactly do they do to 'test' the dog? I think he will fine but I am curious ..... Yes, you can reassure the dog if need be but no food and the dog has to be on a flat collar. From memory, they get you to walk in and out of people, have people pass closely and touch the dog, have a group acting like a crowd milling closely round the dog, drop noisy blocks behind the dog, knock over furniture and play tapes of playground noise. They also go over the dog touching it all over. The dog is allowed to startle at the noise but must recover quickly. My boy just took no notice of any of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply Grand Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 That sounds like so much fun!! Is it actually a job, as in you get paid? Or volunteering? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 That sounds like so much fun!! Is it actually a job, as in you get paid? Or volunteering? You get paid, not a huge amount for the hours involved at times, but it is fun and if I could afford to would have done it for nothing. I enjoyed it more than my dog did. He was a bit ho hum about the whole thing but at least he was steady and reliable and I was able to safely get some kids who had always been terrified of dogs, to come up and pat him. That is such a great feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I'm currently doing this with my dog and I love it! We actually failed the temp test the first time but were invited back to try again. One part of the test (the first part actually) involves being greeted by a "principal" who shakes your hand and then abruptly pats your dog. My dog turned her head to watch what he was doing and we were told sorry. The next time she was six months older And completely fine with it. As I said before I love this job. It is paid, but not highly. I work roughly three times a week with one dog, and I'm hoping that my new boy will be suitable too. The only downfall can be travelling in peak hour traffic. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Oh, and my interview was really informal, it felt more like a chat than an interview. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazar Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Thanks Dancinbcs, hope you recover quickly :) Sounds like the dog will be the easy part. 100 people wow that is a lot... In the assessment do they touch between the dogs toes? He takes it but is not fan and will pull his paw away but that is it? Yes simply grand, it is a paid job although I don't think you could retire on it, more a love I guess :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazar Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Thanks heaps Nik. Just to clarify the 'principal' shakes your hand then pats the dog on the head then goes down its body ) I sm trying to picture why and when a dog would turn around)? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazar Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Did you have to do a presentation as part of your interview? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Yep, shook my hand and clapped me on the shoulder, then bends down to dog and pats on head (inappropriately on purpose). My dog turned her head to his hand to sniff and I was told that she shouldn't have done that but just stood still. She now never moves a muscle! To the point where sometimes she's like a stuffed animal when meeting kids and I need to re-animate her sometimes :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazar Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 guess she has had lots of practice now! thanks again :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I have a friend who has done this with 2 greyhounds but has now retired. She loved it, the dogs could have cared less :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simply Grand Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Yep, shook my hand and clapped me on the shoulder, then bends down to dog and pats on head (inappropriately on purpose). My dog turned her head to his hand to sniff and I was told that she shouldn't have done that but just stood still. She now never moves a muscle! To the point where sometimes she's like a stuffed animal when meeting kids and I need to re-animate her sometimes :) Hahaha, now Im picturing a kid patting her and her toppling over and just lying there still like a toy :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Did you have to do a presentation as part of your interview? I did a short powerpoint presentation about responsible dog ownership but it wasn't essential. It does help show how you think and prove that you are computer savvy as a you do need to have reasonable computer skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue & Waldo Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Just to go slightly OT (sorry) the Lort Smith have a PALS program (Pets as Loving Support). Dogs go into hospitals, nursing homes, etc to visit patients. there is a temp. test and police check. It is all volunteer based and so rewarding. I am assisting with the testing and we need more helpers. Visiting is currently in Melbourne and Geelong. PM me if you are interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odin-Genie Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 We actually failed the temp test the first time but were invited back to try again. One part of the test (the first part actually) involves being greeted by a "principal" who shakes your hand and then abruptly pats your dog. My dog turned her head to watch what he was doing and we were told sorry. I am curious. Why is this unacceptable? Wouldn't most dogs turn to look at the person who is petting them? My dogs usually make eye contact when I or anyone else in the household pets them. They are great with strangers and kids and can easily walk around a shopping mall but even if I (leave alone strangers) came from behind and suddenly petted them, they would turn around and look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juice Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I did it with my bully, who was perfect, so chilled, but after starting the training i found the pay for the hours was just not enough for a single mum to survive on. Shame as i loved it, perhaps when my kids are gone i would do it again when money wasn't an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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