Characteristics & Temperament

Temperament

What is your dog's personality? Although the term "personality" may not be appropriate to describe a canine companion's characteristics, dogs do have individual strengths and weaknesses that make up the dog's temperament. Knowing your dog's temperament will help you decide how to raise your dog. You may even want to find a dog trainer with experience motivating dogs just like yours. You can also use temperament characteristics to help you select a dog that will best adapt to your family and lifestyle.

TESTING Much has been written about temperament testing. Research about reliability is not all positive. Canine behaviorists evaluate dogs for placement in new homes as well as for selection of dogs for specific work. This type of temperament testing is valid when the tester has years of experience with hundreds of dogs. But checking off responses to exercises is of little value unless you can compare it to your knowledge of those hundreds of other dogs. It is difficult to list exercises with which you could reliably select a dog for your family. However, the detailed information provided here gives you the background you need to interact with a dog and draw some conclusions. As you read through this detailed material on canine temperaments, terminology can get complicated. To fully evaluate a dog's temperament, be sure to read about each subcategory of temperament linked above.

TERMINOLOGY "Dominant" and "Subordinate" describe a social status extremes while "Assertive" and "Submissive" describe reactions to threats. Many people use "dominant" as the opposite of "submissive" so I am pointing out that this is not how I use the terms to avoid any confusion.

EVALUATING PUPPIES Temperament testing is often cited as a method for predicting the adult personality of a puppy. Research shows that it is not accurate. Generally, puppies (6-12 weeks) display more subordinate and submissive behavior to strangers than they will as adults. Adolescent dogs (6-18 months depending on breed) generally display more assertive and dominant behavior to strangers than they will as adults. A puppy gets a lot of clues about social status from his environment. Since the environment is always changing, so is a dog's behavior. Evaluating puppies is helpful but cannot fully predict an adult dog's behavior.

PREDICTING AGGRESSION A special mention of temperament testing and predicting aggression is in order. It may be common sense to assume that assertive dogs are dominant and submissive dogs are subordinate. This is NOT the case. In fact, this is not even the norm. It also would be common sense to assume that assertive or dominant dogs would be more likely to be aggressive. This is also not reality. Although you may be more comfortable with the terminology after you slog through the buttons at the top of this page, consider these examples to help you understand the difficulty of predicting aggression in dogs.

Your Golden Retriever, listens to everyone, even strangers. This labels her a subordinate dog. She also runs up to every baby carriage and mail carrier to investigate, making her an assertive dog. While investigating, she bowls people over with her licking and tail wagging. However, when pinched, stepped on and grabbed by children she does not bite. As you can see assertiveness occurs in subordinate dogs and is not a predictor of aggression.

Your neighbor's German Shepherd understands many commands but ignores them from anyone but her owner. She accepts leadership from few people and never from strangers. This is a trait of a socially dominant dog. Further evidence of her high social status is that she engages in prolonged eye contact with you when you walk by the fence. She doesn't bark, just stares at you. However, when her owner got a 6' foot tall cat scratching post, the shepherd hid in the basement for two days because she reacts submissively to threatening situations. If their home were broken into, chances are the dog would hide again. Dominance is not a good predictor of assertiveness or aggression.

Last example. Your sister's subordinate and submissive Sheltie rolls over on her back when approached by anyone, even toddlers. Once when she was hiding from the exterminator, you reached under the bed to comfort her and she bit you! Not dominant OR assertive, yet someone got bitten.

The point is, aggression is not predictable based on characteristics of temperament alone. Temperament measures do not predict biting now or in the future.

EXTREME BEHAVIOR Extreme behavior during evaluation is always a concern. Extremely submissive, assertive, dominant or subordinate dogs will be more difficult to train than dogs with more moderate temperaments.

Overt threats from a puppy (under 6 months of age), growling and threatening body postures, are always undesirable pet behaviors, even for a future watch dog. Puppies displaying these behaviors lack social skills to interact safely with other animals, including people. These dogs may be unable to accept the ever widening social group encountered by a dog living in a human family. Overt threats in an adult will require careful handling as well but are as much caused by learning as by innate temperament.

Fear of people in a puppy, exhibited by hiding and crying out when touched, is also undesirable behavior for a pet. An overly fearful puppy may not be able to accept the busy life of a human family. Unusual fears in adults may be learned from specific experience and will require special handling as well.

Both of these extremes of assertiveness and submissiveness are observed in puppies and dogs kept in isolated environments, especially without a mother or siblings, during critical periods of development. If you are considering adopting a dog that displays extreme behavior, please contact a behaviorist for assistance.

ABUSED DOGS A very special evaluation is required for dogs that have been subjected to extremely poor care. Mistreated dogs may display behavior that is not indicative of their true temperament. If you are considering adopting a dog that you know has not had proper care, consult a dog trainer for advice with temperament evaluation. Be sure you can offer this dog the social situations that will prevent him or her from harming a person or coming to harm as a result of extreme behavior.

Evaluating a dog's temperament can help you to choose a dog that will fit into your family or help you determine which type of training will be most effective for a dog you already live with. All dogs have a mouth, and all dogs can bite, regardless of their temperament.

Responsiveness

Dogs have individual levels of sensitivity to change. Some dogs are very alert and aware of all that goes on in their environment and respond fully to every change. These dogs may be easily distracted but are also easily rewarded. Anything from rearranging furniture to using a new air freshener can capture the attention of a sensitive dog. Some dogs respond only to extreme change and even then may attend to the new stimulus only briefly. These dogs can do very well in classroom obedience lessons because they are insensitive to working in a new setting with strangers. However, they can't be expected to excel at professional dog work such as bomb detection or search and rescue.

Additionally, dogs respond to change either assertively or submissively. Assertive dogs lean forward with their tails up, ears forward, and sometimes the fur on their backs and necks stands up. Assertive dogs are not intimidated by travel or strangers. Assertive dogs make good watchdogs because they investigate and are not intimidated by noises or strange objects. Remember that assertive dogs may not always be dominant or aggressive.

Submissive dogs retreat from change and new situations with tail and ears down. They rarely make eye contact with strangers. Submissive dogs often need encouragement in a standard obedience class because a new place creates withdrawal making learning difficult at first. It is possible to overwhelm a submissive dog with effusive praise as well as with harsh corrections. Dog trainers will often allow a very submissive dog to enroll in a class with young puppies to build his confidence. Remember not all submissive dogs are subordinate and even shy dogs can bite.

Intelligence

Intelligence is an elusive construct. Measuring problem solving skills helps us assess the intelligence quotient or IQ of an individual. Animals, including humans, learn to solve problems through interaction with their environments. Through trial and error or observation, an intelligent individual learns to predict outcomes of his actions accurately. Persistent individuals make several attempts before giving up, creating more opportunities to learn. For this reason, intelligence and persistence are complimentary traits. IQ is just an estimate of an animal's ability to successfully solve the problems that life presents compared to other animals in similar situations.

Someday, perhaps we will devise 50 specific test problems for dogs, score 5 million dogs of various ages and breeds, and come up with an IQ test for dogs. Until then, you can test your dog's IQ with home made problems.

Test problems should be scored pass or fail. Any solution to a problem, other than giving up, is a correct solution. For example, failure to retrieve food by a dog that is not hungry is not an indication of lack of intelligence. Don't forget to consider your dog's breeding as part of the testing selection. Dogs that are bred to herd are more likely to follow moving objects than to pick them up. Dogs bred to retrieve readily pick up objects but are most likely to bring them to you rather than manipulate them on their own. With encouragement, dogs can learn new behaviors. The problems you develop for your test must provide interest for your particular dog. Your creativity and knowledge of your dog will help you design appropriate problems.

Unique solutions are acceptable. For example, if you encourage your dog to reach you through a barrier but he goes around through another room instead, the goal of reaching you has been achieved and he has solved the problem. Also, note the number of times the dog approaches the problem before he succeeds in reaching the goal or loses interest. Remember, persistence is part of intelligence.

The greater the ratio of problems passed to failed, the greater the dog's intelligence quotient. The greater number of attempts at each new problem, the greater your dog's persistence. The greater the dog's intelligence/persistence the more quickly he can learn to solve the problems of life including understanding new commands.

A sample test problem might be to allow your dog to see you wrap a treat in a paper cup. Give him the cup and see if he can successfully get the treat. It doesn't matter whether your dog tears the cup or folds it open. Other test problems might be wrapping a toy in a towel or having your dog wear a leash in the house to see if he will learn to avoid tangling hazards. All problems should be presented under your direct supervision. If a dog is frightened or injured during a learning experience he might become reluctant to approach new situations in the future.

Before you worry what to tell the grandkids about your dog's IQ remember, a dog with a very high IQ will learn how to open the refrigerator when no one else is home so there is something to be said in favor of living with a dog of average intelligence.

Social Dominance

Humans consider social animals, such as dogs, to be intelligent because they are communicative. A dog's ability to interpret and respond to human behavior is probably the reason that the human-canine bond has been so successful for so long. Communication between you and your dog includes subtle cues you give to your dog about his social position. Your dog's interpretation of his social status establishes the type of relationships he will have within your family.

Most dogs are content to be a part of a group but some insist on seeking control. Your dog's interest in reaching a controlling position, is affected by genetics (breed/temperament ) and the environment (his previous success at social climbing). Determining your dog's tendency toward social climbing can help you select appropriate training methods for your dog. Below are four classifications of dogs; dominant dogs ("social climbers"), subordinate dogs ("team players"), independent dogs ("loners") and pariahs ("scape goats"). Some dogs display different behavior with strangers than with family but most dogs have a predominant social style. Finding out which your dog is, can help you work with him or her in training.

SOCIAL CLIMBERS A dog that seeks high social status is often referred to as a dominant dog. To be truly dominant, a relationship must exist in which the dominant member has earned a superior position to other members of the group. Some of the indications of a dog's eagerness to obtain a high social position, are seen in a dog's behavior when first meeting a new person or dog. A social climber usually jumps up onto a person or dog when first meeting. She may put her mouth around your arm to guide you in a direction of her choosing. She may bark at you, insisting that you throw a ball and she will run ahead of you if you begin to walk.

Social climbers don't like their feet or tail touched by family members. Social climbers can be good watchdogs, claiming a specific territory and defending it from intruders. A dominant dog may get frustrated alone all day if she has nothing to do. Earning her respect through consistency and praise will keep her attention in training but physical force will not impress her.

When evaluating a dog remember that dominant tendencies can be confused with high energy and assertiveness. Not all dominant dogs are energetic or assertive.

TEAM PLAYERS: A dog that is interested in belonging has no designs on social position. A subordinate dog**, prefers others to make decisions. A subordinate dog will come to you when you call and follow behind you when you walk away, even if you have just met. He may avoid direct eye contact at first. He will lick your hands more often than your face and will not resist lying down in front of strangers. He will probably return a ball as soon as he is big enough to carry it. Team Players are desirable if children will be helping with the care of the dog because these dogs accept leadership from many people readily. These dogs are not necessarily good companions for a dog with existing behavior issues because they will likely join in and become part of the problem.

A subordinate dog makes a good watch dog, too. He protects the property FOR his family the same way a dominant dog protects his OWN property. Subordinate dogs work readily for praise and can be gradually accustomed to staying alone all day when they understand their leader will always return. Evaluating a dog for subordination can be affected by submissive traits or low energy level.

THE LONER A third classification of social status is the independent dog or "the loner". Independent dogs frequently occur in breeds of dog developed to work alone. Independent dogs are less likely to seek out a large social group. They are also less likely to be concerned about their social position within the group than social climbers and team players. The independent dog may chase a ball but entertains himself with it instead of retrieving it or expecting you to chase him for it. He will investigate new objects confidently and will not run ahead or follow you without specific encouragement or training. He is alert but may appear less gregarious than other dogs. He can watch over the children and stay home alone for many hours. He will not be concerned about strangers or territorial boundaries therefore he makes a good companion for travel. An independent dog will need special attention in obedience school to find fun in the routine. Once you find something to motivate him, he can work all day without supervision.

THE SCAPE GOAT A dog of low status, referred to as a pariah, is not commonly found in pet dogs but may be seen in dog groups. Pariah's are "scape goats" or outcasts in the social group in which they live. A pariah is not permitted to eat with the group and is frequently growled at by other dogs. A pariah dog displays an unusual amount of appeasement behavior, such as crawling, crouching and rolling over, and often urinates when approached. Though all dogs display some appeasement behaviors to avoid conflict, pariah dogs display this behavior to strangers and family members alike. Often pariah dogs are perceived by people as having been mistreated but excessive appeasement behavior, by itself, is not an indication of abuse. Giving preferential treatment to a pariah can increase the group's aggression toward him. This dog is often terribly distressed when separated from his group. Special help from a dog trainer is necessary to train or work with dogs of such extreme social position.

TESTING FOR SOCIAL DOMINANCE To assess the social climbing drive in a puppy, hold her hind feet off the ground by gently lifting her under her hips as she faces away from you. A dog seeking social position will resist you and whine or struggle. She may roll over but only to get away. A subordinate dog will lick your hands and roll onto his side or back and just lie there without trying to escape. The independent dog is likely to stand and permit your handling without directly interacting with you. This is a simple test for puppies but not a good idea to try on an adult dog that you have just met. You may additionally use the social situations described above. Call the dog, throw a ball, introduce the puppy to new objects under supervision to make some predictions about the puppy's natural social tendencies.

Energy level

Another component of your dog's overall temperament is his energy level. Some exuberant dogs can be a challenge to control physically. High energy dogs are often selected by professional dog handlers and law enforcement agencies because their energy level will be required to withstand the rigorous life of a working dog. Sporting and Herding dogs are known for high energy levels.

Low energy dogs can also be a challenge to train. Motivating them to exercise sufficiently and keeping them interested in obedience lessons may not be easy. These dogs make wonderful pets for a busy family. They are not disturbed by constant activity and changing schedules. Some hounds and guard dogs are known for low energy levels.

Most dogs fall somewhere between the two extremes. You may not be able to evaluate the true energy level of a young puppy at nap time or a dog in a shelter or other stressful situation. Make more than one visit to evaluate a dog you are considering adopting. You may get some insight into your dog's energy level by comparing his activity to that of other dogs you know well.