Beautifully stated Tracey

Dog experience the world differently from us in the subjective. Their body is different, their brain is wired different and their 5 senses are different. As far as I know, animals don't have the right brain left brain "divide' like we humans do...so they don't define details like we do and apply labels to everything. That's why marker training works so well and why a dog listens to your inflection as much as the command you use. Dogs seem to be more accepting than us, but they'd have to be. They are more in the moment but they do no possess the creative potential to change their environment like we do. Yet the moment an opportunity arises, they immediately recognize it. Only a human can over think itself away from an obvious chance.

But beyond that, spiritually...what is that like for them? They have to have souls if they love, they feel, they cry....they can even be altruistic. Dogs untrained even rescue complete strangers....they are not just randomly, impulsively being a dumb animal, they know what they are doing, its an inspired act of unconditional love towards a stranger. Why would an untrained dog protect its master if it didn't love them?

How much of temperament is physical, environmental and genetic and how much is spiritual? Just because they don't categorize and think in language naturally like we do....does that mean they aren't spiritually conscious? They communicate through their bodies and actions constantly. So what is it that you see in your dog?

For me, a really great dog has mentally a lot of the traits I would like in my self -- loyalty, bravery, good nerves, patience, peace of mind, joy, curiosity --- pretty much all the good things I want to be I can see or imagine in a really good dog.

A problem dog -- just the opposite. What I wish I wasn't. Fearful, negative, anxious, nervous, resource guarding. Mean. Bitchy.

For me, a really great dog has mentally a lot of the traits I would like in my self -- loyalty, bravery, good nerves, patience, peace of mind, joy, curiosity --- pretty much all the good things I want to be I can see or imagine in a really good dog.

A problem dog -- just the opposite. What I wish I wasn't. Fearful, negative, anxious, nervous, resource guarding. Mean. Bitchy.

bump into current

For me, it's always been a given that dogs have personalities.

From merriam-webster.com: "...the complex of characteristics that distinguishes an individual....especially: the totality of an individual's behavioral and emotional characteristics. b: a set of distinctive traits and characteristics..."

I don't think it's anthropomorphizing to say, yes, dogs have personalities (the very word personality aside, lol).

Humans and dogs are built with the same building blocks, just put together in slightly different ways. Yes, outwardly, we look quite different, but look at, say, our skeletons. We both have femurs, ribs, scapulae, vertebrae, skulls, etc. Look at our internal organs. We both have one heart, two kidneys, a thyroid gland, etc.

We also both have a brain, and while, of course, I'm not suggesting that the dog's brain is anywhere as advanced as a human's, I think, again, the basic building blocks are the same. I don't know that science has ever been able to explain exactly where our personalities come from, but, in general, I believe they come from our brains and are a result of nature, nurture, and the total of our experiences during our lives. Wouldn't the same be true for dogs?

So looking at it from that POV, it would be hard for me to believe that dogs do not have personalties!

Does anyone think dogs do NOT have personality?

Betty said
"For me, a really great dog has mentally a lot of the traits I would like in my self -- loyalty, bravery, good nerves, patience, peace of mind, joy, curiosity --- pretty much all the good things I want to be I can see or imagine in a really good dog".


Absolutely!