Again, in a quiet area, rattle the can from about six feet away from the dog. Try to hide the can behind your back as seeing it might clue him in to what's causing the noise. We want the noise to be unexpected.

A responsive dog will perk up when he hears the noise and become inquisitive about its source. If you had rolled the can on the floor to make the noise, he would see it as a toy and begin playing with it.

A high-energy dog will respond to the noise, but will become easily distracted. He might even bark at the noise as if trying to scare it away.

Shy dogs will back away and lower his ears and tail while raising the hair on the back of his neck. This is a submissive posture. It's common for shy or timid dogs to run and hide from loud noises.

An easygoing dog will saunter up to the noise, check it out but will soon return to whatever he was doing.

An aggressive dog backs away, growls, curls his lips and will make direct eye contact with you as if in defiance. A fear aggressive dog, on the other hand, will crouch and take a submissive stance. Such dogs often will urinate as a sign of submission.

Discipline Test

The discipline test can be helpful when you think about how easy it might be to train this particular dog. Understanding this aspect of his temperament can be useful in determining the methods you'll need to use during the training process.

Be careful when issuing this test as an aggressive dog might try to attack you or bite you. If you suspect that the dog is aggressive, you might want to skip the first version of this test. Do not continue this particular test if the dog demonstrates that he is fearful.

Version 1: With your hand raised, make it appear that you are going to hit the dog to get his response. If he shows curiosity and stays happy or ignores you, he has either a responsive, easygoing or a high-energy personality. A timid, shy or insecure dog will be more jumpy and will duck, flinch and cower in response to your fake threat.

A dominant dog will growl, curl his lips, snarl and perhaps bite. If this happens, it's best to stop the test for your own safety. A fear aggressive dog will respond in a similar way, trying to bite as a way to protect himself. Clearly, such a dog has already had a bad experience.

Tolerance test

This test will be beneficial if you have children around. By knowing how much your dog can tolerate, you will be better informed whether this dog is a good choice for you and your family. This test isn't so much to discover his personality as it is to determine how much discomfort your dog can tolerate.

A dog that is pain intolerant might be suffering from a disease such as arthritis or Hip Displasia, from previous mistreatment or simply from its breeding. Children, for example, tend to like pulling a dog's tail or ears or riding the dog, which can be painful to the animal.

There are three areas you can test (tail, toes, skin), but for this article, we'll discuss the tail, since that's an easy target for many children and even some adults.

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