Which Breed Personality Is Best For You?

Which Breed Personality Is Best For You?

By: Cal Orey

So you're in puppy love. You're thinking that you've found your perfect canine soul mate. At last, you can go for it together! The glitch is, your new pup may have a hidden agenda. That pooch of yours may have a "Howard Huge" Sofa Spud attitude and couldn't care less about winning in or out of the dog world.

You see, not all breed personality types fit you and your lifestyle. "The pro for being similar to your dog's personality is that you tend to believe that you're similar – kindred spirits," explains Los Angeles-based Mark Goulston, MD, author of The 6 Secrets of a Lasting Relationship: How to Fall in Love Again – and Stay There (Putnam, 2001). And that can add years to your life – or not.

If you find out which dog personality type really best suits you (or learn how to cope with the pup's behavior) it can help both you and your dog's tail wag, which can lead to a happier and healthier life.


Which Personality is Right for You?

Take this two-part short quiz, developed with the guidance of some psychology experts, to determine the personalities of you and your pup.

Part One: For You

1. A weekend with your pup does not include playing action-oriented "weekend warrior."
True or False

2.When company comes, you pull a reclusive "Forrester" and bark at the intruders so you can go back to work.
True or False.

3. At a dog show, if your prized pup doesn't win an award you're a cool cat because winning isn't a big deal to you.
True or False.

4. You think it's bliss when you have to run errands and your dog is ready to run the full nine yards with you.
True or False

5. When a stranger walks by your home you don't get irritated like a territorial dog.
True or False

6. When your feisty terrier snatches the ball out of the neighbor's Great Dane's mouth, you secretly cheer "That's my pup!"
True or False

7. If your dog plays couch potato 24/7 that's just fine with you.
True or False.

8. If you don't get your regular physical and mental workout you tend to growl.
True or False

9. When your dog constantly wants to go for a walk, it makes you think you've got a demanding personal trainer and it's nerve-wracking.
True or False

10. If there is a long line at the dog groomers (and your pooch's nails desperately need to be clipped) you start to bite your nails because of the wait.
True or False

Part Two: For Your Dog

1.Your pup lacks motivation to bark at an unknown sound – why bother?
True or False

2.If your dog doesn't have his fave doggie toy, he'll drive you catty until you find it with him.
True or False

3. Your dog is as happy as a cat sitting in your lap or lying beside you 24 hours a day.
True or False.

4. Like clock work your dog barks nonstop at the postman from first sight to the last delivery on the block.
True or False

5. While running errands your dog could care less if you stop for a impromptu doggie run.
True or False

6.If your pooch is left unattended on an open deck he'll go on a hunt-fest.
True or False

7.Your dog is perfectly content to watch back-to-back soap operas with you in bed.
True or False

8. When you're sick as a dog you can count on your pup, sooner than later, to demand walks and/or interactive playtime.
True or False

9.When you're engaged in an important project your dog will stay calm because your needs come first.
True or False

10. After a long jog at the beach or park your dog sends the telepathic message "Let's do it again."
True or False

How Did You Score?

Tally up your answers. You and your dog will fall into one of these groups: Type A behavior (first studied by the San Francisco heart specialist Dr. Meyer Friedman, along with Dr. Ray Rosenman, and is linked to heart disease in humans) and Type B's, the lack of Type A behavior. Once you know your own and your dog's personality type, we'll give you some ideas about canine behavioral strategies.

Type As

[Mostly Trues in both parts for the even numbers 2, 4, 6, 8 10:]

  • The Type A Person: You have the drive to compete and win. Getting irritated or angry easily is part of your nature. And waiting for your dog to respond can irk you. You embody the saying "It's a dog-eat-dog world" and being Top Dog (whether it be at work or while working with your dog in the show ring) is important to you.

  • The Type A Dog: According to Stanley Coren, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, and author of How to Speak Dog: Mastering the Art of Dog-Human Communication (Free Press, 2000), "Type A dogs can't put up with nonsense and are always busy and off in their own business. They're usually extremely active dogs – not couch potato dogs. They're more full of themselves. In other words, they're concerned about what they're doing."

    Type Bs

    [Mostly Falses in both parts for the odd numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9:]

  • The Type B Person: You're more laid-back, less hurried than Type A's. It's hard for you to get super motivated to go do it, whatever "it" may be. Warm and friendly, you enjoy people and the good life – but you're not willing to work too hard for it. After all, frolicking in the sun or plopping on the couch, with a dog or two, is much more inviting.

  • The Type B Dog: "Type B dogs are what we call the mat dogs – totally laid-back. They march in front of the fireplace and park fast. Type B dogs, like Type B people should be less competitive. A Type B dog would be more forgiving and less pushy," explains Dr. Coren. Read: Type B dogs don't sweat the small stuff.

    To find out what this means, click on Answers to Which Breed Personality Is Best For You?


    This article was first published in Puppies USA Annual.

     
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