What does your relationship with your dog reveal about you?
Here's a new book -- Dogology by Vicki Croke and Sarah Wilson -- that explores how we relate to our dogs and what that all says about our personality types.
"What we've done in Dogology is to organize and clarify all those gut feelings most of us have when observing the interaction of different personality types with their dogs," the authors said.
They've come up with nine types: Soul Mate, Expert, Dynamo, Angel, Idealist, Master, Free Spirit, Observer and Buddy.
Are you a Free Spirit? You may be if you cannot get your dog to come when called -- and when that happens, you shrug and say, "I guess we're staying."
Dogology: What Your Relationship with Your Dog Reveals About You (224 pages) is published by Rodale and priced at 17.95 but it's also available through Amazon.
From the Amazon product description:
While most of us recognize that a rescuing Angel (type) needs to save the neediest dog at the local shelter, what makes a Soul Mate a soft touch for round-headed, big-eyed toy breeds such as Shih Tzus, Pugs, and Pekingese. Authors Vicki Croke and Sarah Wilson, experts on the complex bond between dogs and their owners, use quizzes, psychological insights, and humor to analyze why dog owners gravitate toward certain breeds as pets-and to explain what owner's choices reveal about their character and emotional makeup. With Dogology in hand, anyone visiting a dog park can instantly spot the various types and subtypes, from the Image Maker fashionista with her accessory Yorkie peeking out of her Prada bag, to the Free Spirit, whose dog often bears a botanical name and rarely comes when called. Similarly, readers will themselves learn that paying attention to the words they choose to praise their dog reveals the specific approval that they crave themselves. With quick checklists to identify what type of dog owners readers are, tips for training, and exercises for bonding with one's dog, Dogology will make a welcome addition to any of the 43.5 million American households that now own at least one dog.
So what type do you think you'd be?
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About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.
I don't see my category, the one titled "Sucker" or "Suck-ah" but I'm pretty certain that my dogs don't care where I fall as long as I still am the provider of food, love and cheap thrills.
Where is the category for bed fluffer? If the beds are dishelved, one of them comes for my assistance and I have to rearrange it just so for the silly dog to be able to get into REM mode. All for a dog that was taken off a garbage heap in Baja but now fusses over how much cushion her bed offers and if there is a speck of dirt or grass on it.
Ah, maybe I'm a CA (canine assistant) along the lines of Personal Assistant? I just know that my dogs have that air of self importance that usually precludes one hiring a PA.