You Can't Always Get What You Want: Breed Traits & Individuality

It's a well-known fact that different dog breeds have different traits, usually connected with the purpose for which humans developed that particular breed. Labradors are friendly and like to carry things. Terriers like to dig and many also like to terrify small furry creatures. Border Collies are very intelligent, herd everything, and need 4 hours of walks a day to stop them doing a wall of death around the living room.

I write that last sentence with a wry smile (and in the case of the last part, a chunk of mildly sarcastic exaggeration) as I look at my own Border Collie Finn, who flatly refuses to set a paw outside the door if it's raining and is usually found upside down and snoring. He is indeed very bright, will herd a football if kicked to one side of him and, while he enjoys his walks, isn't overly fussed how long he's walked for, so long as he gets a few minutes of sniffing time.

My previous collie (Red) would run all day if he had the chance, but equally was satisfied with a morning walk and a few good play sessions through the day. He flatly refused to herd anything. To the point that, the first time we tried to introduce him to working sheep he took himself home to play in the garden. He had no ambition to herd anything and, indeed, he never did.

The collie that came before him (Dillan) was a superb working dog. She loved to work, and was the most compliant and obedient dog I have ever known. It's very fortunate that she was so willing and obedient, because she was not blessed with a typical collie level of brains. Cues took longer to install in her, and I'm glad she did a lot of her learning to work alongside her mother, an experienced sheepdog, because it would have been a far longer and probably a quite frustrating process. She was the nicest 'person' to have in the house, and even though she really enjoyed working, she was also more than happy to cuddle up on the sofa all day.

Dillan's mother, Cass, was an incredibly intelligent dog. This did not always work to our advantage working sheep with her, as she would sometimes decide she knew far better than we did where the sheep should go and take them in the complete opposite direction to where the pens had been set up. Fiercely independent, I'm sometimes sure she thought us humans more of a hindrance than a help!

Four collies, clockwise from front left: Cass, Dillan, Finn and Red

Four dogs, all of the same breed, two of them directly related (mother and daughter). Four very different and individual personalities. Of those four, only one came anywhere near the typical description of all the traits of a Border Collie, although lacked some of the cooperative nature collies are usually thought to have. Two more show some of the traits, and one showed very few.

So what is my point here?

It is important - indeed, it is vital - to be aware of the traits and characteristics that occur often in breeds, so that we can ensure our lives and family setup is as suitable as possible for a dog of that breed or mix. It is also essential to remember that every single dog, even those from the same litter, is an individual. From any litter of puppies, containing a mix of DNA from the same two parent dogs, there will be differences in personality. There will be braver pups, falling over themselves to get close and gain the attention of humans, and the ones that sit at the back of their puppy playpen, watching and taking in everything going on before deciding on and taking any action. 

For many years the concept of dogs having personalities, of being individuals rather than all close to identical with only the minutest of differences, was considered ridiculous, anthropomorphism of the highest order. As we learn more about how the canine brain works - to the level of functional MRI scans detailing activity in the brains of the dogs trained (using positive reinforcement methods) to wear ear protection and lay absolutely still in the MRI machine - the more we are understanding about their emotional existence. The more knowledge we acquire through research into just what makes our dogs tick, the more the need to treat them as the individual and nuanced personalities that they are becomes apparent.

In short - pay attention to the dog in front of you. Be aware of the potential genetic traits that may well arise due to their breeding and ensure that you can cope with and allow appropriate ways for the dog to express those traits. It is also important that dog guardians do not allow expectations of a certain breed to override the observation of that dog's character, their likes and dislikes, or their needs.

This brings up another aspect to breed selection. Many people have a breed they favour - as many know and is made fairly clear previously in this article, my breed of choice is the Border Collie. Sourcing a puppy of a chosen breed, no matter how carefully the process of picking the breeder is followed, does not act as a guarantee that we will get the dog that we want. In the case of Finn I certainly didn't get the dog I had pictured when I set out to find my next collie pup. While discovering that the dog we have is not necessarily exactly what we wanted may come as something of a disappointment, we still have a responsibility to that dog. They did not ask to join our family. That is a choice that we have made.

When it comes to Finn, my life has completely altered to take into account his quirks and needs, and I am extremely fortunate that I had the ability to do that. My career has shifted to now one involving dogs, particularly the dogs like Finn, the scared and anxious ones, those who cannot cope with much of the world around them, and the people who love them. While this is not possible for many, and rehoming may seem the best solution for some, how that rehoming takes place is important. The surge in puppy purchases in so many places during lockdown means that many with little to no knowledge of dogs took on a puppy with, again, little or no knowledge of what raising a puppy entails. Socialisation in a world locked down by a global pandemic is tricky enough for those with experience, let alone novices in looking after dogs.

This means that there are huge numbers of dogs, now in or entering that turbulent time for both dogs and humans that is adolescence, and who have not learned enough about the world outside of their home. It is common enough in normal times to see lots of animals offered for sale on reaching their 'teenage' period, when they are no longer the cute puppy and are starting to test their boundaries. When the surge of hormones seems to override the dog's ability to listen and respond to cues, particularly when it comes to recall. It is definitely possible (and many dog people think it highly likely) that these 'pandemic puppies' could find themselves in search of new homes in droves.

While there may be responsible people looking for a new canine family member, and who have the knowledge, experience, and patience to work with an under-socialised dog, they are not often combing classified ads. This means the massive risk of a dog being passed from home to home, without the issues arising from their lack of knowledge and inexperience with the world being tackled, without the dog getting the help they need.

Being a responsible dog guardian means doing everything possible in our particular situation to work with the dog and, if there is no way that we can help that dog, to see that they are rehomed responsibly. This means finding someone by word of mouth from dog knowledgeable friends, or contacting a responsible and reputable rescue organisation. It is true that going down the rescue route will not get your money back, but that should really be the last consideration of anyone who ever calls themselves dog lovers. The responsibility to the dog comes before money.

To quote the rest of a few lines of The Rolling Stones:

"You can't always get what you want

But if you try sometimes, well, you just might find

You get what you need"

And just sometimes, that dog who is completely not what you wanted in the beginning might turn out to be the dog you needed to completely revolutionise your life. 😍

This one definitely keeps me on my toes!