Picking the Right Dog for Your Personality

When you decide to get a new dog, it’s important to find one that suits your personality. You’re literally choosing your new best friend, and ideally you’ll have that pooch for ten years or more.

Whether you’re moving to a new town and want to start your new life with a dog, or you’re bringing one into your existing home, there’s a lot to consider, from the dog’s energy level to its ability to be trained. In this article, we’ll go over five basic human personality profiles and dog breeds that mesh well with those sorts of people. We also encourage you to look at mixed breeds, or mutts. These animals tend to have the best traits of their various breeds. Also, go to a shelter to adopt first.

Introspective, Quiet, and Introverted People

You’re the kind of person who prefers to have a few great friends rather than a large network. You’re independent, productive, organized, and thoughtful.

You need a dog that won’t exasperate you and take up all your time and energy, but that is a warm and caring companion.It should be obedient, smart, and relatively self-sufficient, meaning you’ll need to take it for walks, but won’t have to clean up after it too much at home. Though it may be a challenge to train, you’ll see this as a great bonding opportunity. Compatible breeds include the beagle, Boston terrier, cocker spaniel, shitzu, various retrievers, Jack Russel terriers, and golden retrievers.

Generous, Helpful, and Family-Oriented

You love your family and close friends, and find supporting each other important. You’re also reliable and trustworthy, so those who need you feel supported when you’re around.

For you, an obedient, smart, and sweet dog is a good match. Look at various sheepdogs like the German or Dutch shepherd. Also, consider an adorable little Maltese, Havanese, or Bolognese. Other loyal, calm dogs include retrievers, like golden and labrador retrievers, collies, huskies, pugs, and greyhounds.

Friendly, Ambitious, and Extroverted

You love making friends, going to parties, connecting other people to each other, and being the center of attention. You’re a great communicator and love fun situations.

Probably the last thing you want to be doing is disciplining your dog all the time; you’d rather be playing with your pet. So, look for a dog with a happy, extroverted nature, one that loves to play but is easy to train. You need an energetic, social dog. A few great breeds in this category include English and French bulldogs, the Bichon frise, dachshund, and Saint Bernard.

Artistic, Creative, Individualistic

Perhaps you love to draw, paint, or do some other creative artform, and may sell creations online. You may have an artistic job, like graphic designer or game designer.

You need a calm, companionable dog that will allow you to focus on your projects and that can temper your quiet intensity. Consider an English bulldog, kishu ken, shikoku, border collie, or Australian shepherd.

Confident Leader-Type

Do you gravitate toward management positions at work? Are you good at leading people, whether on a sports team, on a work project, or in the classroom?

You should get a confident, intelligent, and playful dog with a strong will. Your best breed options include Maltese, papillon, mastiff, various retrievers, German shepherd, and rottweiler.

Let this article help with your initial ideas for what sort of dog to get. Since this is a big decision, we encourage you to look further. The most important thing you can take away from this article is how important it is to get a dog that you love and that loves you.