Behaviour Assessments

Canine Connect are proud to be qualified and experienced to perform quality behavioural assessments.

Whether it be for a dog in rescue or shelter, a dog needing to be rehomed, for your local council or simply to have a better understanding of your dog, we are here to help shine the light.


Whether it be for a dog in Rescue or shelter, a dog needing to be rehomed, for your local council or simply to have a better understanding of your dog, we are here to help shine the light. ring our assessments your dog will be tested with a variety of stimuli to see how they respond and recover; including

Gunnar undergoing an assessment while in boarding
  • Physical touch
  • Sound sensitivity
  • Food & toys (Resource guarding)
  • People
  • Cats & other dogs
  • Obedience
  • Leash skills
  • Kennel behaviour
  • Overall disposition
  • Much more!

These assessments help the assessors develop a future plan for each individual dog and also help the owner, rescue or council understand the dogs levels of;

  • Arousal
  • Resilience
  • Energy
  • Sociability
  • Social tolerance
  • Use of space
  • Persistence
  • Learnability
  • Cooperation
  • Dog to dog (or cat)
  • Confidence with people
  • Confidence with environment
  • Patience (impulse control)

Behavioural assessments are $205 and come with a full written and digital report. Dogs are brought to us in the morning at one of our facilities and then collected again in the afternoon. Assessments can also be done during a dogs boarding holiday at either Hedgegrove or Windamere Pet Retreat.

We Strongly recommend booking a Private Appointment post assessment to discuss the findings and training plan with our trainers.

To book an assessment please contact us.


These assessments are not designed to be a ‘pass or fail’ but are for assisting in the development of future behavioral and training plan to give the dog the best outcome and a brighter future.

Medical assessments from a qualified Veterinary Surgeon are recommended in-conjunction with our behavioural assessments. Canine Connect can assist in guiding you to an appropriate facility.


Assessment Definitions

  • Arousal – A state of heightened physiological activity
  • Resilience – Recover rate, positive capacity to cope under stress, being competent under stress
  • Energy – Physical energy, the pattern of speed and movement for that dog
  • Sociability – The tendency or disposition to be sociable or associate with others in a friendly manner
  • Social Tolerance – Tolerant and forgiving under various provocations
  • Use of Space – Deliberately using body and space, yielding or crowding as communication
  • Cooperation – Willing to carry out orders or wishes of another without protest
  • Patience – Good natured, tolerant of delay or incompetence
  • Confidence (social) – Assurance, sureness in social settings
  • Confidence (Environment) – Absence of non-social fear. Unphased by assessment location
  • Impulse Control – Ability to self-regulate one’s own state of arousal appropriate to context without prompts or assistance