Dogs’ Personalities Make Them Unique

They are like us — only four-legged 🙂

Chihuahuas are loud. Beagles are stubborn. Pit bulls are dangerous. Bulldogs are lazy. Rottweilers are hard to control.

These are just some of many stereotypical characteristics assigned to various dog breeds.

Who decided on these? 

Dogs are living beings, there is no black-or-white type of situation when it comes to their personalities. In fact, I would argue, dogs’ personalities are just like ours: different in their many forms.

As I already talked a lot about my Jack Russell terrier in previous posts about how she’s teaching me to live life, I don’t think I need to explain again how weird and peculiar and precious my dog is. She definitely has a personality of a child princess!

But the other day, she was playing with another Jack Russell, who is slightly older and a male, but as I was watching them play together hours on end, a thought struck me:

They are just like children.

According to the simple portraiture of breeds, these two terriers should have been basically the same. Have had the same traits, same characteristics. But they couldn’t have been more different.

My dog is hyperactive, crazy and fearless (she thinks she is invincible). She is loud (especially when playing with other dogs), and just a little ticking time bomb. Something like if a small kid was going through a massive sugar rush. Now, the other dog couldn’t have been more different: calm, respectful, quiet, cautious, head held high. A proper gentleman with a monocle and a top hat. Two perfect cartoon characters for a children’s sitcom.

So why is it that we still assign certain characteristics to dogs belonging to the same breed? 

Sure, they can be true in general, but dogs are so much more. There is more behind them than meets the eye. I have no problem with describing breeds by their characteristics, they come in handy especially when deciding on which dog to bring home. However, it becomes a problem, when these traits are expected of them.

The fact is, dogs have their own minds, their own consciousness behind their sweet eyes — just let them be who they are. Then the fun can truly begin!