Photo by Fredson Silva
Reading about the attitudes of dogs in Yvonne Bronstorph’s Dogs With Attitude, you will quickly learn that there are canine personalities you should know about.
When it comes to people meshing well with one another, it is all dependent on their personalities. It would be very difficult for someone who considers themselves an introvert to get along well with someone who has an out-and-about extrovert. Surprisingly, that is the same with people and dogs. If you match a very excitable dog with a very chill human, that is not going to end well—or, at the least, it’s going to take a lot of time and effort for them to understand each other.
Fortunately, compared to human attitudes, canine personalities are more straightforward and archetypal.
What does this mean?
Well, in short, this means that, unlike humans, canine personalities are easier to identify and pick out. Not to be insulting or anything, but due to their simpler brains, dogs have very underdeveloped personalities when compared to human ones; and this makes them more one-sided and uncomplicated.
Elaborated: this means that dogs don’t have much variance in their emotional expressions. This means that canine personalities are more often than not very singular, jumping only one attitude to another instead of the more complex gradience of feelings that people typically have.
Types of Canine Personalities
Relationships are built on personalities, and the way they match with each other is critical to the relationship’s success. People have personalities, and canines do too. If you’re already a seasoned dog owner, you can tell what your dog’s personality is, but for those who are new to the game or still at the stage of thinking about it, here are the main canine personalities you should look out for:
- The Workhorse. The dog breeds people see today are the result of either many decades or millennia of selective breeding. Often this is for the purpose of creating domesticated animals that provide benefit or aid to humans while working. The most common jobs that dog breeds have are mostly related to dealing with other animals, mainly sheep or cattle. The Workhorse is one of the friendlier, more affectionate, and more intelligent canine personalities. This is because there needs to be a certain level of congeniality and adaptability when it comes to herding livestock: they should be friendly enough that the other animal won’t be scared, and they should be smart enough that they can clearly follow simple commands from their human partners.
- The Warden. One of the better traits that dogs have that help them stand out from other pets is their sense of familial bond with humans. More than any other domesticated animal, it is the dog that has the capacity to fully integrate with non-canine families. Unlike, say, a cat or a ferret, dogs become very protective and warm with their family members, be they human or not. The Warden personality can be hard for people with naturally compliant attitudes, but when done right, they can make for the best guard dogs out there. Another thing that makes the Warden one of the more popular canine personalities is their attitude toward children. Because most dogs think of their owners as part of their pack and their family, the Warden is a wonderful guardian to children, being playful while at the same time attentive.
- The Spirited. Another popular canine personality is the Spirited. For people with quite introverted personalities having a dog that has the exact opposite personality can be very helpful. If you have a Spirited dog, you will be forced to go outside and interact with the broader community. Spirited dogs are either goofy or very amicable: they love zooming around the environment, even if you confine them into small spaces, and they really, really love it when there are other dogs and people around, especially when they are allowed to play with them.
Dogs With Attitude
Yvonne Bronstorph’s children’s book, Dogs With Attitude, involves the adventures—or misadventures—of a group of lovable dogs (Tiger, Scrappy, Sammy, Champ, and Bow Wow) as they go about town minding their own business, thinking of themselves as respectively a soccer player, a bodyguard, a slippery eel, a head hunter and an army general.
If you are a prospective dog owner and have kids in your household, Dogs With Attitude is the perfect way to teach your kids all about canine personalities. Reading about the attitudes of dogs is a wonderful method of bonding with family and learning more about your canine friends!