Litter Evaluation Report - LER

Written by Laura Kathryn, 10-15-25

Litter Evaluation Report - Temperament Testing, how it is conducted, and what it means. As taught to us by Tina Barber, Shiloh Shepherd Breed Founder.

The purpose of the Shiloh Shepherd Temperament Test is to evaluate the temperament of each puppy, to be able to properly match a puppy with its new owner. 

Around eight weeks of age, we conduct a litter evaluation for temperament, evaluating each puppy in a litter. The purpose is to read the reactions and body language of each puppy to better predict the future temperament of the puppy, to assist in the placement of puppies.  Keeping in mind their temperament as they grow, can be influenced by the environment it is raised in, how much attention the new owner gives it, the experiences it gets, as well as the type of training/molding/shaping of behavior the puppy receives as it grows. A puppy that is ignored growing up or not given the proper attention or environment in which to flourish, or is bullied by another dog, can be the puppy that, as an adult, ends up being rehomed, as the family becomes unhappy with it, due to temperament problems.

Jessica, my partner in breeding, and I were trained by and continue to utilize the litter evaluation report, or LER, developed by the Shiloh Shepherd Breed Founder, Tina Barber. We have standardized other breeders with ourselves and have been re-certified by Tina Barber’s daughter, after Tina died in 2011. Jessica and I are two of the last remaining Shiloh Shepherd breeders to be directly trained by Tina Barber. We take conducting litter evaluations very seriously, as our puppies depend upon us to match them with the best families for them.

The puppy that would test well for doing search and rescue work as an adult has a different temperament than one that would go on to do therapy work as an adult. The first puppy would thrive in the rigors of search and rescue training, whereas a therapy dog would enjoy sitting next to children, being read to, or visiting the elderly in care homes. While one puppy would be very content in a quiet, subdued household, another puppy would excel in an active family that did activities and got out a lot. 

Each puppy is evaluated individually in a location that the puppy has never been. The puppy is away from their comfort zone,  littermates, dam, their human, all smells, sites, and sounds that they grew accustomed to, for the first eight weeks of their life. The tester is the person who has their hands on the puppy throughout the evaluation process. The tester is a complete stranger and unfamiliar to the puppies. The evaluator is the one who observes, records the puppy’s reactions and responses to each test. and evaluates each puppy for proper placement.

The following are the seven components of temperament we look at during the LER: human interaction and sociability, forgiveness, submission, pain, retrieve drive, fight drive, the maze/problem-solving, and gun sureness. These, as a totality, give us an understanding of what the puppy’s temperament is about, and what sort of placement, family, lifestyle, or environment it would best excel in.

The Evaluator watches the puppy’s tail position, posture, movement, head position, ears, speed of movement, interest in surroundings, and recovery during the testing period to give the information we need to understand how the puppy perceives it’s world.

Note, and this is very important to keep in mind:  We consider, as a whole, the entirety of the temperament test of the puppy, before making any final conclusions as to the final temperament of the puppy. And, this is an estimate or understanding of the temperament. Tina said that what we see could go 2 degrees either way.