Pets Personality and Their Owners - Term Paper Example

PETS PERSONALITY AND THEIR OWNERS Insert Insert Affiliation Outline Introduction 1 General introduction to pets 2 Background of pet personalities 2. Different types of pet personalities 2.1 Personalities for different types of pets 2.2 Personalities within the same species of pets 3. The effect of pet personality on owner behavior 4. Compatibility between pet and owner personalities 4.1 The matching between pet and owner personalities 4.2 Discordance in pet and owner personalities 5. Suitability in matching owner and pet personalities 5.1 Matching different pet-owner personalities 5.2 Matching similar pet-owner personalities 6. Conclusion 7. References PETS PERSONALITY AND THEIR OWNERS According to Leslie (2001), a pet is an animal normally kept for enjoyment and companionship. This is opposed to livestock, sport animals and working animals which are kept for productive or economic reasons. Pets are popularly known for their loyalty, song, playful characteristics and/or for their attractive appearances. Pets are said to provide non-trivial health benefits to their owners with pet keepers reporting that having animals around them helps in relieving of stress. Medically, some pets such as dogs have been approved as therapy animals. Walking a dog reportedly provides the owner as well as the pet with fresh air, social interaction and exercise. Dogs and cats are the most popular pets with others such as rodents and birds being kept as well. Due to their popularity, this paper considers the personalities dogs and cats and their owners. The paper seeks to find whether people tend to choose pets with personalities matching their own or pets with different personalities from their own. Different types of pets have different characteristic behavior and therefore, different personalities. The personality of pets is based on various factors such as their playfulness, emotional stability and their sociability. Experiment results have shown that there is considerable similarity between the personalities of pets and their owners. Studies have also shown that owners and their pets often show physical resemblance and that they may think alike. Considering an owner who has stayed with the pet for a long period of time, the similarity between them was recorded to increase significantly over time (Dodman & Moon, 1996). This showed that pets slowly adapt to the personalities of their owners and vice versa. Studies also recorded differences in personality among pet owners. People who kept fish as pets were reported to be the happiest among pet owners while dog owners were reported to be the most fun pet owners to be with. Cat owners are emotionally sensitive and dependable while reptile keepers are the most independent of pet owners. According to Corren (1998), over the years, pet owners have insisted that their animals have unique personalities. This suggests that the pets reflect their owners’ personalities. Even people who do not own pets are known to identify themselves with some pets. For instance, some people identify themselves as cat owners while others may identify themselves as dog owners. Comparing the two categories, dog owners are generally more outgoing while cat owners are said to be more creative. This may be due to the fact that dogs are social animals with the eagerness to please while cats are more curious and introverted compared to dogs. Even though cat people and dog people are reportedly different, sufficient studies have not been done to determine the actual difference. This is because, the studies carried out between cat and dog owners, did not account for the fact that a cat person may own a dog and vice versa. Corren (1998) reports an online personality survey carried out asking 4500 respondents whether they considered themselves cat people or dog people. The survey which included 44 questions explored five personality dimensions thought to include the entire spectrum of the various personalities. The dimensions included conscientiousness, which includes common behaviors such as sense of duty, self-discipline and the tendency towards spontaneous or planned behavior; extraversion, that is, the tendency towards being enthusiastic, gregarious, energetic and positive; agreeableness, which included attributes such as altruism, trust, affection, sociability and kindness; openness, that is, traits like curiosity, appreciation for arts, creativity and behavior that may be considered nontraditional; and neuroticism, which encompasses characteristics like being anxious, easily stressed or easily worried. According to the findings from the study, about 46 percent of the respondents identified themselves as dog people, 12 percent as cat people, 28 percent as both and 15 percent as neither. From the findings, people who identified themselves as dog people were 15 percent more extroverted, 11 percent more conscientious and 13 percent more agreeable as compared to the cat people. Cat people were 11 percent more open and 12 percent more neurotic than the dog people. The differences obtained in the study were not very large. Moreover, there are many extroverts who are cat people and many dog people who are not necessarily extroverts. However, the findings are reported to have major implications in pet therapy where it suggests that matching people with the most appropriate pets may be assisted by the personality screening (Corren, 1998). For instance, a film producer from Atlanta who owns two cats and a dog reported that neither of her cats liked her much due to the fact that they knew she did not give them the attention they require. On the other hand, her daughter is liked by the cats mainly because she has time to sit around and cuddle them. The actor reported that she believes, as a rule, that dog people are more agreeable and extroverted while cat people are introverted. She considers herself a dog person because she is a flight and not a fight person; she would agree with many things just to avoid arguments. Considering individual pet species, there is a variation in personality between various members of a species. Since the variation is mostly observed in different breeds, dogs stand out as the most appropriate species to be considered. Cottam & Zelin (2003) considers dogs as having six different types of personalities. The aggressive personality characterizes dogs with dominant behavior and that are easily provoked into biting. Such a dog’s dominant nature makes it resistant to human leadership. Such dogs need a training program that is rigorous and consistent. Their owners should be active with preference for intensive outdoor activities. A dog with the confident personality is self-assured and dominant. It can also be provoked to bite. However, the dog readily accepts firm and consistent leadership from the owner. Such a dog owner should therefore be decisive and determined to invoke response from the dog. With such an owner, the dog with a confident personality can be a fine show or working dog. Such dogs can comfortably fit in the household provided the owner knows what it is doing. A dog with an outgoing personality is sociable and friendly. With enough exercise and regular training, the dog adjusts well to different environments and owners. Provided the owner is kind enough to handle the dog correctly, it adapts well to different surroundings and can be an excellent family pet in the household. A dog with an adaptable personality is cooperative and easy to handle. The dog has a submissive nature that makes it to continually look to the owner for leadership. Such a dog copes well with owners of different personalities because of its affectionate and gentle nature. It is a good family pet that is reliable with children and easy to train. Another dog personality is the insecure personality. Such a dog lacks in self-confidence and is very submissive. The dog bonds closely with the owner and needs regular encouragement and companionship. The dog needs an owner who is patient and not very demanding(Cottam & Zelin, 2003). Finally, the dog with an independent personality is generally not interested in people. Such a dog matures into not being so affectionate with low need for companionship by human beings. The owner of the dog should allow it to have singularity of purpose without compromising it with strong attachments. From the matching of pet and owner personality, it is observed that suitability is determined by the personalities with people preferring pets that have similar personality to their own. People whose personalities are extroverted prefer active and playful pets. On the other hand, such pets enjoy the company of such owner since they give them a chance to enjoy their natural predisposition (Podberscek & Serpell, 2003). The compatibility, however, is the opposite in some cases where the owner or the pet has a domineering personality. For instance, a pet which is not comfortable with human guidance may require a more patient and understanding owner, otherwise, similar personalities would clash and therefore not achieve the mutual relationship of beast and master. The same happens to owners who are domineering over their pets. Such people cannot cope with pets that are defiant. Instead, they are more comfortable with submissive and obedient pets that respond to their commands just as their personality expect of them (Cottam & Zelin, 2003). Whenever there is discordance between the personalities of the owner and the pet, the relationship is severed with both of them experiencing stress instead of mutual comfort. For instance, people who like playful dogs may find docile dogs boring and end up harassing them without considering that it is their normal behavior to be inactive. Such animals require considerate, caring and patient owners. This would give them a sense of emotional satisfaction and therefore relieve them of stress. In addition, some people prefer to cuddle their pets. At the same time, some pets are not very responsive to such behavior, with some of them becoming aggressive in such situations (Podberscek & Serpell, 1997). When matching a pet to its owner, it is important to consider the personalities of both and how they would match in different situations. In conclusion, it is important to note that similar personalities between the pet and owner match more appropriately than the reverse. This applies to most of the pets including those not mentioned in this paper. Moreover, it is suggested that, people tend to choose the pet to keep based on their personalities. This means that some personalities are more suited for given pets and not others. As the pet and its owner spend more time together, there is the tendency for each to adjust and fit to the other’s behavior. This may transform their personalities slightly. However, the initial personalities determine the compatibility between a pet and its owner. From the research findings, pet behavior has been used to determine the personalities of their keepers. It is therefore sensible to conclude that the similar personalities between pets and their owners form the dominant combination, while in other cases, compatibility is achieved when pet and owner have contrasting characteristics. References Corren, F.T. (1998). Personality differences between dog and cat owners. Psychological Enterprise Limited. Retrieved on 11 November, 2011 from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201002/personality-differences-between-dog-and-cat-owners Cottam, N. & Zelin, M. (2003). Comparison of Personality Inventories of Owners of Dogs With and Without Behavior Problems. Florida: Center for Psychological Studies, Nova Southeastern University Dodman, N. H. & Moon, R. (1996). Influence of owner personality type on expression and treatment outcome of dominance aggression in dogs and other pets. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Leslie, M. (2001). Pet Ownership: Trends in Ontario. The Canadian veterinary journal 35 (4): 218–22 Podberscek, A. L. & Serpell, J. A. (1997). Aggressive behavior in English cocker spaniels and the personality of their owners. The Journal of Applied Research in Veterinary Medicine Read More