Insecure or easy going?
CHECK OUT YOUR DOG’S PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dogs’ personalities var y, but are they born, made, or something in-between? Carol Price advises.
ABOUT CAROL Behaviourist and trainer Carol is a world-recognised specialist in the Border Collie breed, and an official ambassador for The Border Collie Trust GB. She is also the founder of the leading advice page for collie owners, www. facebook.com/Collieology
Dogs, like us, can differ quite widely in mental outlook or personality. However, often these differences are not only too loosely defined —a dog is either nervous or confident, friendly or less friendly, aggressive or submissive — but little thought is given to the critical components, both genetic and environmental, that ultimately shape the future nature of a dog.
So, what really makes your own dog’s personality what it is? In my long experience of dealing with different dogs, it begins
with a purely genetic element, and a dog being predisposed at birth to think or behave in a certain way, and in this feature I have listed what I see as the six main genetic dog personalities.
Genetic predisposition, however, is never the whole story when it comes to how any dog’s personality ultimately emerges. So, I have also highlighted different life factors or experiences that can also significantly shape your dog’s nature or behaviour for better or worse (see ‘The changing dog’ on page 12) because this is the bit we can influence ourselves.
PERSONALITY 1: TIMID/NERVOUS
Nervous dogs are easy to spot, often behind their owners’ legs!
Dogs with more nervous genetic personalities are usually fairly easy to spot in that they never seem at ease beyond anything other than the most familiar home environment. They are the dogs you will typically see cowering or shaking when out, or trying to hide behind, or constantly climb up, their owners’ legs for a greater sense of security or protection. They have no sense of social curiosity when meeting other people or dogs on a walk, and just seem to want to get away from them as soon as possible.