When choosing a dog, one of the most important things you can do is learn more about its temperament so that you can make sure its personality meshes with yours.
One of the most important things to consider when buying your next dog is its temperament. Depending on the personality of your own home, a dog could either fit right in or cause contention for years to come. Before you buy your puppy, give some serious thought to what type of home you live in. Do you have small children? What about other animals? Are you just looking for quiet companion? Worried about the safety of your home? Or do you need a playmate?
Once you’ve decided which temperament would fit best into your home, your next step is to find a dog that has that temperament. Below, we’ve grouped the American Kennel Club’s top twenty dog breeds into temperaments. Many breeds have multiple temperaments.
Active
- Yorkshire Terrier
- Dachshund
- Chihuahua
- Pomeranian
- German Shorthaired Pointer
- Shetland Sheepdog
- Boston Terrier
Cheerful
- Golden Retriever
- Pomeranian
- Beagle
Courageous
- German Shepherd
Easy Going
- Boxer
- German Shorthaired Pointer
- Pug
Friendly
- Beagle
- Boxer
- Golden Retriever
- Shih Tzu
- Boston Terrier
Inquisitive
- Yorkshire Terrier
- Maltese
Intelligent
- Labrador Retriever
- German Shepherd
- Poodle
- Doberman Pinscher
- Shetland Sheepdog
Kind
- Labrador Retriever
- Pug
- Shetland Sheepdog
- Boston Terrier
Loyal
- Labrador Retriever
- Dachshund
- Chihuahua
- Rottweiler
- Boston Terrier
Outgoing
- Labrador Retriever
- Boxer
Patient
- Golden Retriever
Playful
- Beagle
- Boxer
- Golden Retriever
- Poodle
- Boston Terrier
- Shetland Sheepdog
- Maltese
Protective
- Rottweiler
- Doberman Pinscher
Quiet
- Bulldog
- Shih Tzu
Stubborn
- Dachshund
- Beagle
- Shih Tzu
This article has been presented by Pawsitively Clean Pet, a leader in pet grooming products. The following resources were used to gather these facts:
- http://www.akc.org/reg/dogreg_stats.cfm
- http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/dogbreeds/