Did you know dogs are born with different personalities, even within the same litter? And that their personality can affect how easy or difficult it will be for them to be obedient to their owner as they mature?
The different personalities between dogs are actually Nature’s way of helping everyone in the group get along and find their most comfortable place in the hierarchy of their pack.
For simplicity, one can divide dog personalities into four broad groups, like the original Briggs-Meyer system that analyzed and identified human personalities, especially as it applied to the workplace: Drivers, Expressives, Analyticals and Amiables.
Even though the Briggs-Meyer system evolved over time into a very complex and sub-divided system, these four basic personality types show themselves in dogs and other social mammals, as they navigate their own social networks. I use this information in my training business, but make them easier to reference by color-coding them.
Let’s take a look at each personality, its characteristics and how it can potentially affect obedience.
The BLUE DOG (Driver)
Self-Assured and Self-Reliant
Training Challenge: Hard to be Top Dog with a Top Dog
Blue Driver dogs are proud and aware of their intelligence. Cookies will not make them obedient; just entitled. They require a leader that they can look up to, and because they often consider themselves top of the pack, becoming the Leader can be a challenging role for an owner to fill. This is especially true for an owner that is uncomfortable with making rules and enforcing boundaries.
Blue personalities enjoy showing off what they’ve learned and can be highly trained, but have a tendency to respond to a command or the owner’s wishes only when they want to; ignoring commands when they don’t. This is a trained dog, but not an obedient one.
To be obedient is to willingly acknowledge a Leader that is greater than themselves, whom they are happy to serve and relinquish their own desires in favor of their Leader’s.
They can be humiliated or even triggered by scolding or punishment, so clever use of boundaries, rules and praise are called for.
The PURPLE DOG (Expressive)
The Champagne Bottle of the Dog World
Training Challenge: Raising your voice makes things worse
Purple Expressives have lots of energy, bubbly personalities and effervescent charm. They can struggle to control themselves, like the energy inside is bigger than their skin can hold.
Purple personalities can often have “delusions of grandeur”, acting like they want to be Top Dog, but they don’t have the inner confidence to pull it off. So, they try too hard – barking, lunging, nitpicking, etc. Unfortunately, doing this can start fights with other dogs that see them as foolish and annoying.
Many Purples, with all that natural energy, can excel in dog sports like agility, rally, flyball, dock diving, tracking and more. It’s a positive way to channel all that energy!
Getting true obedience from your Purple personality dog can sometimes be a bit easier than from Blues, because Purples are not convinced of their own superiority. If they huff and puff, it’s just an act. They are actually a bit insecure and I find them grateful for someone else to take over.
The challenge with Purple personalities is that training them to accept human’s leadership must be accomplished with a quiet voice and quiet energy to keep them calm and able to focus: walking them slowly, talking slowly, disallowing unwanted behaviors without anger or excess emotion and quiet but relentless follow-through. This can be difficult for many owners, especially if they are the impatient type themselves. But if they work on controlling their own energy and emotions, these dogs can be incredible!
The YELLOW DOG (Analytical)
The Sweet Worrywart
Training Challenge: Easily overwhelmed by the loud or unfamiliar
Yellow Analyticals can think too much (like the name implies). Not really, but they can be exceedingly careful when it comes to new things and new experiences. They really need a strong leader to take on the role of boss and protector especially when facing new things, like guests coming over or passing a kids on a loud skateboard while walking with you in the neighborhood.
Dogs are by nature, creatures of habit. They are comforted by routine and the familiar but unsettled by anything out of the ordinary. Any break from the familiar, especially in the Yellow dog’s mind, can open the possibility of danger – when the thinking brain shuts off and the instinctive brain takes over. This is why a Yellow personality dog can go from Perfect to Cujo in the blink of an eye and put the embarrassed owner into a state of panic as well.
Regardless of “socialization”, some Yellows just plain don’t like strangers on their property or meeting new dogs in the dog park. Listen to them. These are dogs that will appreciate being crated in a quiet room during the big party or being allowed to stay home and go for a leash walk instead of being thrown in with a pack of “unfamiliars” at the park.
Yellow personalities can also be quite sensitive to negative emotion, like anger. While a Purple personality is ramped up by excess emotion, the Yellow dog can be crushed by it. Owners must be especially careful not to raise their voice or get angry with this personality. It could shut them down, if they fear of making another “mistake” and this would obviously hinder their training progress. Remember, yelling doesn’t make you Top Dog; it makes you an Oger.
Instead, quietly disallowing unwanted behaviors in a consistent but effective way helps the training progress. At the same time, letting this sensitive dog know when they’re doing it right can produce impressive results.
The AMIABLE DOG (Green)
Friendly and Tolerant
Training Challenge: Not much. Great for first-time dog owner
Green Amiables are the pet-dog world’s “diamonds in the rough” because they would rather be led than lead and they are tolerant of others – including us when we make a training mistake.
As in Nature, however, not all diamonds are flawless. They can be included with other “stuff”. A Green personality could have some Blue dog stubbornness, or Purple dog energy or a Yellow dog’s sensitivity – but usually without the intensity of these and need for perfection in your training technique.
Green personalities may be energetic, but usually that is because they are testing to find their boundaries and once you make those clear, their energy is normalized.
They are not overly cautious. In fact, they may be experimenting and getting into things but can accept new rules if you set and enforce them.
Before training, they may act a little rude and goofy, jump and pull like all untrained dogs, but they will rarely challenge authority if it’s communicated clearly and logically when training begins. Greens are the go-along to get-along members of the dog pack. They do not see themselves as Top Dog so if you do things right, they will accept your leadership position and yield to your wishes. If they have previously been handed the leader role unintentionally because of lack of training in their family, they will happily give it back if you step into the Leader position with clarity, follow-through and kindness.
The best part of a Green personality is their tolerance. You don’t have to be perfect when you train and live with them. They’ll forgive your occasional mistakes. It’s why they are the favored personality for service dogs and families with small children.
In short, dogs come in a variety of “Colors” – personalities to explore and enjoy!
-Camilla Gray-Nelson is a Professional Dog Trainer in Petaluma, California
