Dogs come in many different shapes and sizes, and they can also have very different personalities. Certain breeds may be more likely to behave in a certain way and display similar personality traits, but each individual dog is still completely different. You can get two dogs of the same breed that behave and act completely differently. As owners we get to know our dog's personality pretty quickly. This enables us to make adjustments to how we train them and behave around them. It's useful to know your dog's personality so that you can know their limits and what situations they might not be comfortable with. We have created different types of dogs for different purposes and this has resulted in huge genetic diversity when it comes to dogs. The way your dog behaves is partly to do with their in built DNA and generations of selective breeding. How they behave also depends greatly on their experiences as a young pup and through adolescence. Things that happen to young puppies can have a profound effect on how they act later on in life. Your dog's personality depends on a variety of factors. A paper that was published in Behavioral Processes in 2009 suggested that how calm a dog is can depend on a number of factors. For example how much training a dog has had, the age of the dog, whether they have been neutered and even the age of the owner. Some studies have been done on canine personality. For example, in 2002 Svartberg and Forkman identified key variables describing personality in their study titled ''. They suggested that dogs have revealed the following personality types: playfulness, curiosity/fearlessness, sociability, desire to chase and aggressiveness. This is just one study, and although it highlights interesting personality groups, these aren't the set personality types of dogs. It would be extremely difficult to define all the different personality types of all dogs. When thinking about what type of personality your dog has you don't need to go into this level of depth. You probably have a really good idea of their characteristics anyway. For example your dog might be independent, withdrawn, attention seeking, nervous or very confident. Personality does seem to be measurable in dogs, there just needs to be more studies done in this area. If you want to learn more about your dog's personality or they are developing behaviours that you are concerned about then speak to a canine behaviourist. They will be able to identify what sort of personality your dog has and provide you with support and advice on how to manage their behaviour.
