Issue Date: April 22, 2007

In this article: Quiz: What's the right pet for you? Quiz scoring

PETS

What your pet says about you

In many ways, what's on the other end of the leash is a mirror for who we are.

By Steve Dale

Cover dog: A Jack Russell Terrier.

We've all witnessed the phenomenon: A lady waddles down the street with her basset hound, who looks just like she does. And according to psychologist Nicholas Christenfeld, it's more than a coincidence. The results of his 2004 study at the University of California, San Diego, revealed that, indeed, dogs do resemble their owners.

But do our pets also mirror who we are, reflecting our personalities in addition to our appearance? "There's no doubt that sometimes I can tell an awful lot about the people at the other end of the leash by whatever problems I'm seeing in the dog," says veterinary behaviorist Nicholas Dodman, editor of Puppy's First Steps and director of the behavior clinic at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, Mass. "Pushy dogs tend to have pushover owners, and there's even a study out there that supports this. In my experience, people who have anxious dogs do tend to be more nervous. All those rescue dogs with problems are rescued by nurturing people. The personality of your dog is a pawprint for the personality of their owners."

Dodman's perceptions are right on, according to psychologist Stanley Coren. In his 1995 to 1997 study, Coren, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, found specific personality traits in people likely would match themselves up with certain kinds of dogs. For example, self-assured people were most likely hooked up with terriers. "Historically, the dog group most often owned by U.S. presidents (including George W.) are terriers," says Coren, who wrote Why We Love the Dogs We Do.

But we're also pretty egocentric about choosing our dogs. It's no coincidence that we choose dogs that look like us. "There's a potent force to take care of what genetically resembles us," Christenfeld says. "We're attracted to what mirrors our image."

And sometimes the mirror image is quite striking. To test this out, I played what I call the Match Game at a local dog park.

I had no problem matching the dogs with their owners -- for instance, the beautifully groomed golden retriever with the equally beautiful, golden-haired young woman, or the Goth-looking youth with the spiky-collared Rottweiler.

However, Lee Spark Jones, a psychologist, dog behavior consultant and family counselor in Portland, Ore., dismisses the game as "silly stereotypes and broad generalizations." "Who's to say that a little old lady can't have snakes?" she asks. "Or a tattooed guy can't have a bunny rabbit?"

Christenfeld's data, though, indicates otherwise. "You see a picture of a sweet little old lady and a picture of a heavily tattooed tough guy," he says. "One owns 20 snakes, and the other has a bunny rabbit as a pet. Which person do you think has the snakes? I think that there is some predictability to this."

Robi Ludwig, a psychotherapist and frequent guest on "Larry King Live" and "Today," agrees. "We tend to have pets that reflect us. It's like any relationship. When choosing friends or a spouse, we tend to pick what will complement us."

Even in the kind of pet we choose, we may be making a statement, says Lynn Hoover, a family therapist in Pittsburgh and president of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. "If you have a ferret, you may be telling the world, 'I'm a non-conformist.' If you have a Labradoodle, you're saying, 'I'm as fashionable as my dog breed,' " she says. "Anyway, that's the message others perceive, and you intentionally -- or at least subconsciously -- want to communicate it."

One could speculate that people who have only cold-blooded animals (reptiles and amphibians), or who have fish, are clearly less interested in cuddling with their pets. But are they any less affectionate people? Coren concedes the issue does get muddied. For example, a person may choose a reptile because he is really into herpetology, or choose a Newfoundland dog because his parents and grandparents always had Newfoundlands. "Still, in most cases, there is a reason beneath the surface as to why a pet is chosen."

Family therapist Hoover offers the example of an introvert who subconsciously chooses an outgoing golden retriever because deep down she wants to approach people but doesn't have the social skills or the confidence to do so on her own, but she knows the dog will do it for her. "In other instances, people may choose an aloof dog -- a more standoffish breed, such as the Afghan -- because they really are that way themselves," Hoover says. "It's a good match."

Coren says consciously or subconsciously we're making the right match for a reason -- except for cats. Those who select cats as pets do so because they find the species beautiful. "Our cats do not necessarily look like we do," he says. And Coren points to a specific personality (more introverted and less sociable) that likes cats and dislikes dogs, although that theory doesn't hold for those who like both cats and dogs.

Actually, I argue that it's the cats who may be choosing us. They literally wander into our lives, appearing at the doorstep and demanding to be adopted, or rubbing up against us at the shelter and purring at us. Maybe such cats are secretly assessing our personalities, seeking to match themselves with the right people.

"I'm not sure they have secret meetings to decide which people to adopt," psychotherapist Ludwig laughs. "Few people would keep any cat that shows up on their doorstep. Perhaps, though, the cat with the orange face and golden eyes might remind you of one you had when you were a kid, or maybe the cat is athletic and you fancy yourself an athlete. Subconsciously, you think about the cat being right for your image and for who you are."

In fact, sometimes it seems there just isn't an explanation for why people choose their pets. There may be no physical resemblance, and the personalities don't seem to fit -- but the relationship still works. For example, when he was in office, people associated Winston Churchill with a bulldog, but he actually owned a miniature poodle named Rufus.

But then, could it be that the inner Churchill was more suited for a poodle personality? Maybe gruffy Churchill needed to express his softer side through a little poofy dog. "That's probably true," Hoover says.

Dodman says he likely would score very well at the Match Game. He can match the "poser" (he's got a pug with a rhinestone collar), the guy wearing his heart on his sleeve (he's with a rescued pit bull) and other types with their respective dogs. What's at the other end of the leash is a mirror to who you are in more ways than one.

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Quiz

What's the right pet for you?
Of course, if you're thinking about getting a pet, consider your lifestyle more than appearance. Based on details about you and your family, this not-so-scientific quiz will match you with the right kind of pet(s).

1. How would you describe your family?
A Clean freaks (1 pt.)
B Moderately clean (3 pts.)
C A little disorganized -- who isn't these days? But at least we try to clean up when people come to visit (6 pts.)
D Chaos is our middle name -- and we're not ashamed (7 pts.)

2. Which matches your family's schedule?
A We're constantly traveling -- the neighbors don't believe anyone lives in our house (0 pts.)
B We're home only in the evening, and even then we're in and out (3 pts.)
C We're busy, but relish the time we spend at home (4 pts.)
D We're homebodies (6 pts.)

3. What is your family's lifestyle?
A We're retired and unable to do a lot at this time in our lives (1 pt.)
B We're lazy -- our idea of exercise is reaching for the remote (2 pts.)
C We're active and like to be outside (6 pts.)
D We like to keep busy, but we're also homebodies (7 pts.)

4. Describe the personalities of your household members.
A Like Howard Hughes, we're recluses (0 pts.)
B We're quiet and keep to ourselves, although friends and family members visit (2 pts.)
C We like to get out and make new friends on the street, in the grocery, wherever we are (6 pts.)
D We like to show off what we have -- we were the first on our block to get an Xbox 360 (8 pts.)

5. What is your pet-owning history?
A We've never had a pet before (1 pt.)
B One of us had a pet as a kid, but not since then (3 pts.)
C We're experienced pet owners, but we have pretty much stuck to dogs and cats (5 pts.)
D We've always had a zoo in our home (8 pts.)

6. How tolerant are you?
A We're the first to complain about noisy neighbors or trash on the street (0 pts.)
B We're not especially tolerant, but over time we gradually accept change (3 pts.)
C We're tolerant and can pretty much go with the flow (6 pts.)
D We can put up with pretty much anything -- throw it at us and we'll find a way to deal with it (8 pts.)

7. Which describes your sense of humor?
A We have none (0 pts.)
B We're a pretty serious bunch (1 pt.)
C About average (5 pts.)
D We never get upset -- we always laugh it off (8 pts.)

8. How does your family dress?
A We're so conservative, we wear shoes to bed (0 pts.)
B We rarely wear ratty clothes, even at home (1 pt.)
C We're into the latest fashions -- if it's chic, we have it (6 pts.)
D We wear jeans and dress down whenever possible (7 pts.)

9. What are your sleeping habits?
A We're light sleepers and can't deal with being woken up from a sound sleep (1 pt.)
B We hate to deviate from our sleep schedule. We use weekends to catch up on our ZZZs (2 pts.)
C We're night owls and nap during the day (3 pts.)
D We get up at the crack of dawn, or we sleep when we sleep -- we're pretty flexible that way (7 pts.)

10. Which describes your family's vacation habits?
A We love our vacations and often travel for weeks or months at a time (0 pts.)
B We travel a lot, but we have many relatives and friends who live nearby (3 pts.)
C We take the whole family on vacation and typically travel by car. We don't stay in fancy places, but we spend lots of time outdoors (5 pts.)
D We pretty much never go anywhere (8 pts.)

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Scoring:
Up to 9 pts. Get a beta fish or a hermit crab -- that's about all you can handle.
10 to 28 pts. You're most suited for a feline friend (or two), a gerbil or hamster, or perhaps rescuing a senior dog.
29 to 42 pts. Your best choice is a canine companion (or two). If you scored under 35 points, one dog and one cat may be a better option than two dogs.
43 to 53 pts. A pet reflects your character, and you want people to know it. You're the perfect candidate to consider a snake, sugar glider or other exotic pet. If you prefer a dog, you're up for the challenge and can deal with a very active one, even an intense border collie.
54 to 64 pts. A dog (or two) is easy. You have the skill and sense of humor to deal with a high-maintenance pet, such as a large parrot or ferret.
65 to 74 pts. You're in the pet big leagues. You'll be happiest with a combination of pets. Just having one kitty or bunny simply wouldn't be enough fun.

Contributing Editor Steve Dale last wrote about how smart parrots are.
Cover photograph by Steve Grubman