Personalities
are the basis of a person. A person has a certain set of inner qualities or
tendencies that they are judged on, thus creating the perception of a
personality. The question of whether a dog can have a personality deeply
resides on what type of relationship the individual and that particular dog
pertain. Dogs can have personalities, just like people, because dogs share a
level of emotional and physical compassion for certain people, whether that be
their owner or a child, dogs too can share the same level of connection to
people that we share as humans. By providing tendencies, or even qualities,
they too can have personalities. Actions speak louder than words, literally.
The ideal of physical compassion. Some
might argue that it’s hard for a dog to show physical compassion, yet it might
be invisible to the naked eye, by that I mean that it just isn’t noticed till
you spend some time thinking about it. For most, the most logical name for a
dog’s physical actions can be marked by the word “behaviors”. On Dogster.com
there is a test, in this test you are finding out what type of dog breed you
are based on your personality, then later they say it’s based on your behaviors,
which are two conflicting descriptions because they simply aren’t the same. Upon
further exploration of the website, I looked up the German Shepard breed specifically,
because that’s the breed of my interesting puppy. They continue to talk about
the tendencies of the dog, and this time they use the term “trademark traits”
which isn’t entirely wrong considering that a “trait” and “quality” are extremely
similar. They list “intelligent and eager”, “Strong-willed and fearless”, and
lastly, the one most important to the argument “obedient and protective”.
Importantly, being protective has its own set of certain sub qualities because
in order to be protective, you must have a minimal level of care, one of the
key components to defining a personality. You must also have a minimal level of
compassion and feeling for that individual. You wouldn’t protect something if
you had no feeling, care, or reason too. These so called “behaviors” don’t entail
the meaning behind actions, and the compassion. If you have ever noticed, when
you are feeling down, or you are upset, a dog might come up to you and bury its
head into your chest or arms, and just sit there for however long it takes for
you to move. Dogs do this to show that they care for you. Care is a key component
to a personality, because it is something that we often mark people as when we
describe someone close to us. We envision them as “caring”. When a dog puts
forth the physical actions to touch you, or even lick you, it’s because they
like you, unless they bite you, that’s just unfortunate.
The ideal of emotional compassion. Emotional
compassion can be a difficult thing to spot from a dog especially sense most of
our human emotions are communicated through talking. Yet this is not entirely
impossible, emotions are often also communicated through the expressions, and
the way dogs act. According to the Florida dog training school, dogs can have
up to 6 different personalities. They consist of aggressive, confident,
outgoing, adaptable, insecure, and independent. Due to the fact that these can
run very closely along the lines of behaviors, they are explained by the
Florida dog training school. The one that I would be confident in saying my dog
resembles would be the “outgoing” personality.
They say that “A dog with this type of personality is friendly and
sociable.” They also say that these dogs have a “flexible temperament”, which
in regards to the emotional factor; they are able to exhibit a wide range of
different actions that define their personalities. They are able to specify if
they are happy or angry, sad or energetic. Dogs are able to show compassion
emotionally by being there for you, physically being there with you in the
moment, almost like having a shoulder to cry on, except it’s a dog. They can
provide emotional support even without words, because they can sense your
feelings and read your actions. This can be seen when you are mad, and you
throw something, your dog simply cowers into a corner. But if you are happy,
and seem inviting, your dog (well at least my dog) will jump up and give you a
nice big hug.
This question of whether a dog can have a
personality was thought of after I noticed my own dog’s actions and how they
related to my feelings, my actions, and how my dog’s tendencies were repeated,
unlike actions or “behaviors”. They seemed like they had meaning, and that’s what
sparked this question. Describing my dog became the same, “funny, caring, and
outgoing”. It became clear to me that physical
and emotional compassion were essential to the argument after realizing the way
I described my dog and others that I hold very closely. Usually describing them
as caring, for the reason that care being a key component of personalities. Dogs
can have personalities, not just “behaviors”.
Sources:
Florida dog training school
"Dog Personalities - What Kind
of Personality Does Your Dog Have?" Tampa Dog Training School. N.p., n.d.
Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
Dogster.com
"German Shepherd Information,
Pictures of German Shepherds." Dogster. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
