One of the best ways to test a dog’s tendencies is to give it some food or a treat or bone, and then see if you can take it away without any aggressive response from the dog.
It’s also wise to use a fake hand!
if the dog fails this test, do not get it.
The story says that many of these dogs failed the test, which is one given nationally to test aggression. They were adopted out anyway.
From the Inspector General report: Pappy was one of 215 dogs who left ABQ animal shelters last year after failing a national-standard behavioral test that reveals dangerous tendencies. Eighty-three of those dogs were reclaimed by their owners. But 100 of the dogs were adopted into households, and 32 of the dogs, like Pappy, were turned over to rescue groups. The live exits accounted for 18 percent of all behavioral test failures. Still another dog who failed the behavioral test is listed on our kennel records as “missing.”