My friends say I'm a fool
But over and over
I'll be a fool for you . . .

. . . ‘Cause you got personality
Walk, with personality
Talk, with personality
Smile, with personality
Charm, with personality
Love, with personality
And of course you’ve got
A great big heart!

Lyrics by Lloyd Price and Harold Logan
Personality lyrics © Lloyd And Logan, Inc.
Hear You've Got Personality

All of us who love our pets insist to anyone who cares to listen that every dog (and cat and rat and lizard) has its own personality. We learn their unique body language, what they like and dislike, their quirks and special brand of affection and mischief. We recognize their individuality.

It turns out we were all correct.

As NPR’s Becky Sullivan explains:

Labrador retrievers fetch, border collies herd, huskies howl: It's conventional wisdom that many dog breeds act in certain ways because they've been bred to do so over the course of many generations.

But a new study . . . in the journal Science finds that though some dog behaviors are indeed associated with particular breeds, breed plays less of a role overall than conventional wisdom holds.

. . . Overall, the study found that [only] about 9% of the variation in an individual dog's behavior can be explained by its breed.”

. . . Across individual dogs of the same breed, the researchers found huge variations in behavior.

For instance, although golden retrievers are, on the whole, more likely to fetch than many other dogs, there are plenty of lazy goldens that sit and watch as their owners fruitlessly toss tennis balls.

And no behavior is unique to any single breed, the researchers said. German shorthaired pointers are not the only dogs that point.

“Genetics matter, but genetics are a nudge in a given direction. They're not a destiny,” Evan MacLean, the director of the Arizona Canine Cognition Center at the University of Arizona . . . .

The article ends with this comment by Evan MacLean, which will come as no surprise to any of us who have or ever had dogs:

“We do have to accept that our dogs are individuals.
Each dog is a study of one . . .
We want to accept our dogs for who they are.” ***

So . . .

. . . This post is dedicated to a few dogs
with a BIG PERSONALITY!

Jake looks practically saintly
in this photo.

You’d never know that
one of his favorite tricks
is eating socks.
When his family expanded
to include a baby,
he upped his game and
started eating underwear, too.

George’s specialty is
giving love and comfort.


There’s a bluegrass saying that you can’t help but smile
if you’re holding a banjo;
I think you can’t help but feel happy
if you’re holding George.

According to his human, Katie, “Victory is a lovable boy who loves learning tricks for treats, going on walks and snuggling with his mama! His biggest crime is that he gets so excited and barks his mighty hound dog bark which instills great fear in all around him. But he is a gentle boy who is afraid of chickens and babies.”

Our wonderful readers have so many marvelous dog-personality stories. Some have already been shared in these pages, and more will be shared in later posts. If you feel so moved, share your favorites in the Comments below, or on the Looser Island Dogs Facebook page.

As Kasumi would say, “Oh for the love of dog!”

(You didn’t know that was one of Kasumi’s favorite sayings? Ah, well, you’ll just have to keep reading the chapters, won’t you!)

*** Your Dog is a Good Boy, But That's Not Necessarily Because of Its Breed, by Becky Sullivan, NPR (4/28/2022).