Finding the perfect dog is something everybody wants to do (and a surprising number of people think they do), and although just about everybody thinks their pooch is perfect, there are certainly some that are better behaved than others.
While much of what makes a dog “perfect” is subjective, such as looks, some aspects of their personality are universally regarded as good and others bad. In this short article, we’ll look at what makes a good dog, a bad dog, and a perfect dog.
There are some qualities that are inherent in dogs, and cannot be trained away. Some of these are bad, and some are good.
Examples of natural good qualities include a physical fortitude, friendliness both towards people (especially children!) and other dogs, and a desire to please.
These natural qualities are dictated by a number of different factors, and although they vary from dog to dog, you can get a general idea of how a dog will be from its breed and, if it has any, personal history.
The perfect dog will have lots of qualities that are naturally positive.
Bad qualities can also be inherent or trained, and poor qualities to avoid in dogs include a poor temperament (which includes behavior such as growling, raising hackles, or other aggressive actions), super-dominant behavior, overly needy or spoiled behavior, and destructive tendencies.
All of these can throw a household into disarray, and some dogs can cause serious damage to objects or harm to people. The perfect dog minimizes these qualities.
Good qualities can also be trained, however, and training can reduce the bad qualities.
In fact, many poor qualities in dogs are a result of a poor social upbringing, and if you find a dog you like that shows some of these negative qualities, giving a shot at positive reinforcement and a little tender love and care might not be a bad idea.
Knowing when to give up on a dog is important, though, because while this is a very difficult thing to do, it can be a long-term frustration to try and train an un-trainable dog.
The perfect dog is, ideally, a combination of good natural qualities and trained positive behavior, with as much mitigation as possible of negative tendencies. Finding this dog isn’t impossible, and we aren’t saying there’s more than one, but striving to have your dog be perfect is a fine goal to strive for.
