Are dogs like their owners? What your choice of dog says about you!

It is a cliché as old as time that dogs are like their owners, but one that there is often a lot of truth behind, as anyone who knows a reasonable number of dog owners will agree!

While many people think that their dog picked them in terms of what caught their eye and how they felt about the dog that they now own when they first met, everything that we do in life, including picking or being picked by our pet, comes with a whole range of unconscious cues, keys and signals working in the background that ultimately help to dictate what we like and don’t like, or what sort of dogs are likely to appeal to us.

In this article, we will look at a few core traits that dog owners often share with their pets, even if they don’t realise it! Can you see yourself in any of these? Read on to find out!

How and where you got your dog says a lot about your impulse control!

Before we even get as far as looking at the traits of different types of dogs and the people that own them, just looking into how you came by your dog in the first place can be very telling!

• If you bought your dog from a pet shop when you only planned to go in for a look, or if you bought your dog or puppy without a real plan to do so because you saw one for sale that appealed to you or pulled on your heart strings, you’re probably fairly impulsive!
• If you planned out in fine detail what sort of dog you wanted and waited a while to get it, you’re probably a real planner and organiser, with excellent impulse control!
• If you adopted a shelter dog or a dog that needed to be rehomed, you are likely very charitable and empathic in general, and always keen to do the right thing.

A place for everything…

And everything in its place! If you never leave the house without clean, ironed clothes and perfect hair, hoover daily, and get twitchy if the remote control is not in line with the edge of the coffee table, you are highly unlikely to own a great hairy slobbery beast that sheds prolifically or has a tendency to home in on the nearest muddy puddle!

If, on the other hand, you enjoy a cheerfully chaotic home or that you think the world is too interesting to do tonnes of housework, you may well share your home with a messy mutt, a heavily shedding Golden retriever, or an always-mucky Cocker spaniel!

How active are you?

If you have a lot of nervous energy, are always on the go and love active, outdoor sports, your perfect canine partner may well be a Siberian husky, a Border collie or a Jack Russell. If, on the other hand, your favourite sporting activity is wrestling for control of the TV remote, a gentle walk is about your limit and you don’t like to go outside in bad weather, your canine companion may well be a Greyhound or a Bulldog.

Are you a social butterfly?

How sociable you are and how much you enjoy the company of others and meeting new people will also partially dictate your perfect canine match! Outgoing, highly social people who always like to have friends around them and people to talk to may well own a Labrador retriever, or a personable, open and friendly Staffordshire bull terrier.

On the other hand, if your ideal evening’s entertainment involves peace and quiet with either a close friend or just your dog for company, and if having a lot of people around you and a lot of demands made on you to socialise and meet new people sounds like your idea of hell, you may well own a slightly speculative Japanese Akita, or a one-man-dog breed such as the Shar-Pei.

Your views on dog management

All dogs need proper control, training and management in order to thrive, be happy, and be kept under control. However, no two dog owners are alike when it comes to listing what they see as the right or best way to care for their dogs, and what they think their dogs should and should not be allowed to do!

If you think your dog should sleep in your bed, go everywhere with you and have all of the latest, coolest canine accessories, you might be mad for toy dog breeds, such as the little Chihuahua or the Shih-Tzu. On the other hand, if you have very strict rules on your dog being a dog and not a baby, and treat them as a working pet that needs to be managed as such, maybe you own a big, business-like breed such as the German shepherd or the Belgian shepherd dog.

So, is there any truth in the cliché that dogs are like their owners? You decide!