How I feel about personality testing a young puppy....
This has been a long time coming! I usually get frustrated when people want to be super serious about personality / temperament testing a young puppy. I have been doing this long enough to know that puppies do change! The first few years is so critical to what they become, but the first two months is not set in stone. That is why we now require all new owners to sign up for training classes. Owners over the long term will be more happy with their dog if they have done training. And, let's face it, well behaved dogs don't sit in shelters long.
Puppies don't see well until about 4 to 5 weeks old. Hearing comes in around the same time. They don't even potty without stimulation help until about 3 weeks old. So, if a puppy leaves a breeder around 8 to 10 weeks old, how long have they actually been a fully aware being? 3 weeks? So to judge a puppy personality at 2 months old seems a bit crazy, right?
I'm a quiet person. My dogs in my household are quiet (except for when the postal person or UPS driver makes a noise on the porch). You go over to my older sister's house, where there are kids swinging from the ceiling light, and neighbor kids around (stray kids?), and the energy is high... dogs too! Dogs become what you are; they become what your household is. I have been saying this for years. Yes, some personality component is genetic - I read some scientific studies that say about 35%. For example, a working herding dog will herd! But, 65% is a lot to work with, folks, and appropriate training will make that herding dog NOT bite your kids' heels.
Every single day, every single moment, is an influence on your puppy and what he or she will develop to be. Have a shy puppy? Take the puppy with some steak treats in your pocket, to the pet store, and reward for every experience, and that includes walking in the front automatic doors. Puppy elevator scared? Get the treats ready, always on hand. Puppy growl at your kids? Be real with yourself... the kids scared or hurt the puppy. They are bigger than your puppy. The world to their eyes is intimidating - you would be intimidated if you were that small and young too. Give good experiences, backed with high reward treats (not boring milk bones), and your pup will grow to be confident. Have a high energy puppy? Tell your kids, "calm kids equals calm puppy", and plan on every day exercising your puppy and managing their time so they are not sleeping after dinnertime and keeping you up at night. There is no magic. It is all common sense. Dogs want to be with us, we are lucky for that - our job is to learn how to appropriately communicate with them (learn dog language - I highly recommending reading books and watching videos before getting a pup).
Another great example I have that it is common sense. Have a little kid that is scared? Do you square up on him and say in a loud voice, "what is the matter with you?". No. You'd just scare him even more. So, why do this to a scared puppy? Do you stare a scared kid in the eyes? No. You let the kid drop his eyes. Staring into eyes is aggressive and intimidating. You should calmly sit down, don't make eye contact, and don't GRAB for the kid / dog. You can "face" them using your side, not square on or towering over (get on their level), and if they come up to you, you can pet their chest because petting on their head is dominant thing to do. Anything dominant is intimidating.
Your dog jumps up? Stop petting him while he is jumping up. He is rewarded every time someone pets him when he has jumped up since a puppy. Cross your arms, look away, and do not talk or pay attention to a jumping dog. It is cute as a puppy, but when they are big or have muddy paws, not so cute.
I plan on building on this opinion article, but for now, I want to cite a good study that is RECENT.
~MamaC
NEW STUDY OUT:
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190222125218.htm
Good dog? Bad dog? Their personalities can change - Like humans, dogs' personalities likely change over time
February 22, 2019
Source: Michigan State University
Summary: When dog-parents spend extra time scratching their dogs' bellies, take their dogs out for long walks and games of fetch, or even when they feel constant frustration over their dogs' naughty chewing habits, they are gradually shaping their dogs' personalities.
When dog-parents spend extra time scratching their dogs' bellies, take their dogs out for long walks and games of fetch, or even when they feel constant frustration over their dogs' naughty chewing habits, they are gradually shaping their dogs' personalities. Dogs, like people, have moods and personality traits that shape how they react in certain situations. New findings from Michigan State University went where few researchers have gone before to reveal that, also like humans, dogs' personalities likely change over time.
"When humans go through big changes in life, their personality traits can change. We found that this also happens with dogs -- and to a surprisingly large degree," said William Chopik, professor of psychology and lead author. "We expected the dogs' personalities to be fairly stable because they don't have wild lifestyle changes humans do, but they actually change a lot. We uncovered similarities to their owners, the optimal time for training and even a time in their lives that they can get more aggressive toward other animals."
Additionally, Chopik found that dogs' personalities can predict many important life outcomes. For example, canines' personalities will influence how close they feel to their owners, biting behavior and even chronic illness.
The research, published in Journal of Research in Personality, is one of the first -- and is the largest -- studies of its kind to examine changes in dogs' personalities. Chopik surveyed owners of more than 1,600 dogs, including 50 different breeds. Dogs ranged from just a few weeks old to 15 years, and were split closely between male and female. The extensive survey had owners evaluate their dog's personalities and answered questions about the dog's behavioral history. The owners also answered a survey about their own personalities.
"We found correlations in three main areas: age and personality, in human-to-dog personality similarities and in the influence a dog's personality has on the quality of its relationship with its owner," Chopik said. "Older dogs are much harder to train; we found that the 'sweet spot' for teaching a dog obedience is around the age of six, when it outgrows its excitable puppy stage but before its too set in its ways."
One trait that rarely changes in age with dogs, Chopik said, was fear and anxiety.
Honing in on the saying, "dogs resemble their owners," Chopik's research showed dogs and owners share specific personality traits. Extroverted humans rated their dogs as more excitable and active, while owners high in negative emotions rated their dogs as more fearful, active and less responsive to training. Owners who rated themselves as agreeable rated their dogs as less fearful and less aggressive to people and animals.
The owners who felt happiest about their relationships with their dogs reported active and excitable dogs, as well as dogs who were most responsive to training. Aggression and anxiety didn't matter as much in having a happy relationship, Chopik said.
"There are a lot of things we can do with dogs -- like obedience classes and training -- that we can't do with people," he said. "Exposure to obedience classes was associated with more positive personality traits across the dog's lifespan. This gives us exciting opportunities to examine why personality changes in all sorts of animals."
Chopik's findings prove how much power humans have over influencing a dog's personality. He explained that many of the reasons a dog's personality changes are a result of the "nature versus nurture" theory associated with humans' personalities.
Next, Chopik's will research will examine how the environment owners provide their dogs might change the dogs' behavior.
"Say you adopt a dog from a shelter. Some traits are likely tied to biology and resistant to change, but you then put it in a new environment where it's loved, walked and entertained often. The dog then might become a little more relaxed and sociable," Chopik said. "Now that we know dogs' personalities can change, next we want to make strong connection to understand why dogs act -- and change -- the way they do."
Story Source:
Materials provided by Michigan State University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
Puppies don't see well until about 4 to 5 weeks old. Hearing comes in around the same time. They don't even potty without stimulation help until about 3 weeks old. So, if a puppy leaves a breeder around 8 to 10 weeks old, how long have they actually been a fully aware being? 3 weeks? So to judge a puppy personality at 2 months old seems a bit crazy, right?
I'm a quiet person. My dogs in my household are quiet (except for when the postal person or UPS driver makes a noise on the porch). You go over to my older sister's house, where there are kids swinging from the ceiling light, and neighbor kids around (stray kids?), and the energy is high... dogs too! Dogs become what you are; they become what your household is. I have been saying this for years. Yes, some personality component is genetic - I read some scientific studies that say about 35%. For example, a working herding dog will herd! But, 65% is a lot to work with, folks, and appropriate training will make that herding dog NOT bite your kids' heels.
Every single day, every single moment, is an influence on your puppy and what he or she will develop to be. Have a shy puppy? Take the puppy with some steak treats in your pocket, to the pet store, and reward for every experience, and that includes walking in the front automatic doors. Puppy elevator scared? Get the treats ready, always on hand. Puppy growl at your kids? Be real with yourself... the kids scared or hurt the puppy. They are bigger than your puppy. The world to their eyes is intimidating - you would be intimidated if you were that small and young too. Give good experiences, backed with high reward treats (not boring milk bones), and your pup will grow to be confident. Have a high energy puppy? Tell your kids, "calm kids equals calm puppy", and plan on every day exercising your puppy and managing their time so they are not sleeping after dinnertime and keeping you up at night. There is no magic. It is all common sense. Dogs want to be with us, we are lucky for that - our job is to learn how to appropriately communicate with them (learn dog language - I highly recommending reading books and watching videos before getting a pup).
Another great example I have that it is common sense. Have a little kid that is scared? Do you square up on him and say in a loud voice, "what is the matter with you?". No. You'd just scare him even more. So, why do this to a scared puppy? Do you stare a scared kid in the eyes? No. You let the kid drop his eyes. Staring into eyes is aggressive and intimidating. You should calmly sit down, don't make eye contact, and don't GRAB for the kid / dog. You can "face" them using your side, not square on or towering over (get on their level), and if they come up to you, you can pet their chest because petting on their head is dominant thing to do. Anything dominant is intimidating.
Your dog jumps up? Stop petting him while he is jumping up. He is rewarded every time someone pets him when he has jumped up since a puppy. Cross your arms, look away, and do not talk or pay attention to a jumping dog. It is cute as a puppy, but when they are big or have muddy paws, not so cute.
I plan on building on this opinion article, but for now, I want to cite a good study that is RECENT.
~MamaC
NEW STUDY OUT:
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190222125218.htm
Good dog? Bad dog? Their personalities can change - Like humans, dogs' personalities likely change over time
February 22, 2019
Source: Michigan State University
Summary: When dog-parents spend extra time scratching their dogs' bellies, take their dogs out for long walks and games of fetch, or even when they feel constant frustration over their dogs' naughty chewing habits, they are gradually shaping their dogs' personalities.
When dog-parents spend extra time scratching their dogs' bellies, take their dogs out for long walks and games of fetch, or even when they feel constant frustration over their dogs' naughty chewing habits, they are gradually shaping their dogs' personalities. Dogs, like people, have moods and personality traits that shape how they react in certain situations. New findings from Michigan State University went where few researchers have gone before to reveal that, also like humans, dogs' personalities likely change over time.
"When humans go through big changes in life, their personality traits can change. We found that this also happens with dogs -- and to a surprisingly large degree," said William Chopik, professor of psychology and lead author. "We expected the dogs' personalities to be fairly stable because they don't have wild lifestyle changes humans do, but they actually change a lot. We uncovered similarities to their owners, the optimal time for training and even a time in their lives that they can get more aggressive toward other animals."
Additionally, Chopik found that dogs' personalities can predict many important life outcomes. For example, canines' personalities will influence how close they feel to their owners, biting behavior and even chronic illness.
The research, published in Journal of Research in Personality, is one of the first -- and is the largest -- studies of its kind to examine changes in dogs' personalities. Chopik surveyed owners of more than 1,600 dogs, including 50 different breeds. Dogs ranged from just a few weeks old to 15 years, and were split closely between male and female. The extensive survey had owners evaluate their dog's personalities and answered questions about the dog's behavioral history. The owners also answered a survey about their own personalities.
"We found correlations in three main areas: age and personality, in human-to-dog personality similarities and in the influence a dog's personality has on the quality of its relationship with its owner," Chopik said. "Older dogs are much harder to train; we found that the 'sweet spot' for teaching a dog obedience is around the age of six, when it outgrows its excitable puppy stage but before its too set in its ways."
One trait that rarely changes in age with dogs, Chopik said, was fear and anxiety.
Honing in on the saying, "dogs resemble their owners," Chopik's research showed dogs and owners share specific personality traits. Extroverted humans rated their dogs as more excitable and active, while owners high in negative emotions rated their dogs as more fearful, active and less responsive to training. Owners who rated themselves as agreeable rated their dogs as less fearful and less aggressive to people and animals.
The owners who felt happiest about their relationships with their dogs reported active and excitable dogs, as well as dogs who were most responsive to training. Aggression and anxiety didn't matter as much in having a happy relationship, Chopik said.
"There are a lot of things we can do with dogs -- like obedience classes and training -- that we can't do with people," he said. "Exposure to obedience classes was associated with more positive personality traits across the dog's lifespan. This gives us exciting opportunities to examine why personality changes in all sorts of animals."
Chopik's findings prove how much power humans have over influencing a dog's personality. He explained that many of the reasons a dog's personality changes are a result of the "nature versus nurture" theory associated with humans' personalities.
Next, Chopik's will research will examine how the environment owners provide their dogs might change the dogs' behavior.
"Say you adopt a dog from a shelter. Some traits are likely tied to biology and resistant to change, but you then put it in a new environment where it's loved, walked and entertained often. The dog then might become a little more relaxed and sociable," Chopik said. "Now that we know dogs' personalities can change, next we want to make strong connection to understand why dogs act -- and change -- the way they do."
Story Source:
Materials provided by Michigan State University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- William J. Chopik, Jonathan R. Weaver. Old dog, new tricks: Age differences in dog personality traits, associations with human personality traits, and links to important outcomes. Journal of Research in Personality, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2019.01.005