Dog Personality

This chapter provides a good overview of a dog’s personality, a very important issue because all dogs regardless of their breed (shape, size, and appearance) are individuals having their own personality. Dog’s personality has three basic constituents: temperament, character, and behavior which are not only important but different. There is a significant difference between the character and temperament of a dog, which together determine its behavior. More specifically, the temperament of a dog determines and controls the way it reacts to the environment (external stimuli and events) and is determined by 100% hereditary factors. The character of a dog is the result of exogenous factors that contribute to its formation and can be modified through experience, training, socialization, and the other factors. The behavior of a dog is the result of two not constant factors expressing the influence of humans and the environment and the genetic factor, which is stable, but creates the background on which the two previous operate.