Most of us, without knowing, have a certain preference for the way a dog looks. Some folks love “squishy faced dogs” like English Bulldogs, Pugs or Boxers. Some people love the look of a dog with a long snout, such as a Border Collie, Standard Poodle or Pointer. Some people love the look of a fluffy dog such as the Samoyed, Papillon or Collie.  We all have ideas of what the most beautiful type of dog is. That is how most of us pick a dog. We see a photo of an adorable puppy or dog at a rescue or breeders, and we fall in love with the dog based on its appearance. It is a human tendency (this is how the dating apps work too).  But when people do not research the tendencies and characteristics of the dog, the likelihood of a mismatch increases. Some examples will help explain the issue.

A person might love the beauty of a Border Collie, but live in a small apartment with no yard and work full time. Pretty quickly, that Border Collie’s need for exercise, enrichment and herding work can turn into destructiveness, maladaptive behaviors and frustration for the owner. Or maybe you love the look of an English Bulldog, but want a running & hiking partner. Bulldogs are not physically made to endure long stretches of physical exercise, especially in hot climates.  A very common scenario that I encounter is a family who loves to entertain and have lots of people over for parties, but they adopted a guardian breed dog (Pyrenees, German Shepherd, Cane Corso) and they are surprised when their dog growls at new people who come to their house. 

We all have our preference about a dog’s appearance, but what I strongly suggest folks do is research the breed characteristics of the dog they fall in love with.

Gather health information, exercise needs and sociability of the breed you are considering. If you are adopting a mixed breed, finding out what a large percentage of their breed makeup is via a DNA test will help predict what their needs are going to be. So, before you “swipe right” on a dog, please research whether or not you and your lifestyle are a good fit for this particular pup. Some good resources for information about breed tendencies and lifestyle requirements include the national breed clubs, and also “Meet Your Dog” by Kim Brophey (or the accompanying website https://www.thedogkey.com/app-main.html).

*Disclaimer, there is a large variability of breed tendencies within a breed. (Ex. Some guardian breeds are more suspicious of strangers than others)