It’s about the Dog not just the Breed
Woof!
"Go left, go left! Now go right! Faster! Make a circle! GET THE TENNIS BALL!!! Jump up on the Human, make him THROW THE BALL! Chase!!!!
This is Dexter, a six-month-old German Shepherd mix.
Then there is Amelia, the Obi-Wan Kenobi of shelter dogs. She's a five-year-old Husky who walks by my side, leash slack, calmly taking in the winter's day walk. She exudes dog wisdom. She seems to think, "Be the walk, breathe in, breathe out. All is good."
Amilia
And Roman! The two-year-old sweet Pitbull mix: "This leash is mine! I shall take it in my mouth and lead you, dear Human!"
Roman, the Sweet Pitbull
Then there is Trixie, another puppy of many breeds. She is definitely a tracker: Nose to the ground, following a scent, zig-zagging across the trail. “We're getting close; the rabbit will be mine, and I will make him my friend!"
Chile
Finally, Chile, the veteran all black six-year-old shepherd. He’s walked these trails hundreds of times, knows the paths and patiently leads, looking back to make sure you’re following. His mantra is, “I’m a great dog, just help me learn to trust humans.”
The point is, when you are around a lot of dogs, it is immediately evident that they are individuals. Research bears this out. According to a paper published in 2021, titled "Ancestry-inclusive dog genomics challenges popular breed stereotypes," by Kathleen Morrill et al., although close to 80% of how a dog looks can be attributed to genes, only 9% of their behavior, their "personality" is inherited. There are two exceptions. First is the instinct to retrieve, and the second is human sociability. We live with a dog, a Great Pyrenees, who, by breeding, is not social. Toby's over 10,000-year-old lineage was bred to be in the mountains alone with goats. But even Toby, lacking a herd, has become relatively social. (Or maybe he just thinks of us as his sheep.)
Our Watch Dog, Toby on a break
All other behavior, the researchers found, was a function of their environment and how they were raised, treated, socialized, and cared for.
For dog people, this has implications. For example, there is the much-maligned Pitbull (Roman, close your floppy ears). Although it is a prejudice that is hard to let go of, Pitbulls or other blocky-headed dogs are not, by breed, inherently aggressive. (unless someone is breeding them to fight, and I have an opinion about that). Instead, their behavior is a function of their environment. If they are abused, chained, taught to "sic," reinforced for being aggressive, you'll get a reactive dog (and if you treat a Golden Retriever that way, she would also be more reactive than your normal laid-back Retriever.) Let's face it. Some people think it is cool to have an aggressive dog, and because pit bulls get all the negative press, that's the dog they select and train to be reactive.
Conversely, if a "Pitbull" is socialized, cared for, loved, and trained, you end up with a sweet dog like Roman (Roman, you can uncover your ears).
The next implication is not to be "breed-blind" when adopting a dog. That is assuming that if you adopt a German Shepherd puppy, she will grow up to be wicked smart, or if you adopt a Golden Retriever, he will never growl.
In the same vein, think about a litter of puppies. There are always a couple of pups who are adventurous and trying to get out of the pen, and there are one or two who are calmer and shyer. Like human beings, they are individuals.
For me, behavior and personality are more important than breed and need to be top of mind when choosing a companion. Rather than thinking solely about "what kind of dog," list the personality traits you're looking for. Do you want a laid-back couch potato or a dog that needs to run every day and can stick with you on trails as you mountain bike? Do you want a watchdog that barks at every tree that moves in the wind or a dog that would let robbers in your house if they had treats? After that list is complete, my next criteria, regardless of breed, is a small dog, big dog, puppy, or old dog. (please think about old dogs!)
Lastly, shelters are full of every kind of dog personality. A shelter is the first place to go when you need to fill that space that only a dog can fill.
Hersch Wilson's latest book, "Dog Lessons: Learning the Important Stuff from Our Best Friends," is available at Collected Works in Santa Fe and at bookstores everywhere.