One of the biggest problems is that using a survey instrument for behavioral traits of something like dogs is a very blunt instrument. Some of those breed traits are behavioral (such as German Shepards have strong herding instinct) but with dogs particularly the traits are so greatly overshadowed by the environment, and are they not doing a task because they have the equivalent of dog ADHD (if there is one) and hop from task to task, for instance if you use your German Shepard for herding well then it's going to hone that, and an owner will note high levels, but the fact that it might run around the grand kids playing in the back yard seeming to herd them, is also how it may be trying to join in to the humans' game play not quite understanding the rules. In humans we have language which lets us understand a lot more about behavior, from the subject, here the problem is doing or not doing the behavior is for any number of reasons. Also dogs like people need to be taught by their elders. Try taking a dog with "high herding instinct" and put them in a paddock and sure they'll run around the sheep, but not usefully, now when they are young put them with an experienced herding dog for 3-6 months and now they can suddenly effectively herd.
