Dog personalities: expert shares five canine personalities and how to spoil them

By Asmita Sarkar

Digital Journalist

Published 16th Feb 2023, 15:31 GMT

Knowing a dog’s personality would tell you how to train them, especially if you are enterring them for a dog show like Crufts in Birmingham

Dogs show their love for their owners every day but next week owners get a special day to show their pooches how special they are. With Love Your Pet Day coming up on February 20, pet owners can spend the day spoiling their pooch and showering love.

There are around 10 million households in the UK that own a dog and and most owners would say that they know their pet inside out. However, knowing their personality would tell you how to train them, especially if you are enterring them for a dog show like Crufts in Birmingham.

For owners who want to understand their dogs better, household products company Studio have teamed up with Pet Behaviour and Nutritional Expert Anna Webb to reveal the five different dog personality types and exactly what they mean for your pup’s behavioural and play needs.

Use Studio’s flow chart to discover your dog’s personality.

Here are the five dog personalities, according to Pet Behaviour and Nutritional Expert Anna Webb:

Bell Boys are very intelligent, making them more conscious of ‘threats’ to the home. For example, they’ll likely be the first to let you know when a delivery driver is close by. A trained Bell Boy will bark and rush to their owner to check they’ve heard him or her, before retreating to his bed and letting you answer the door. So, owners should focus on create a boundary around the front door by teaching their dog to settle in bed and rewarding them for doing so. Using a variety of toys will help to sustain the Bell Boy’s interest throughout the day, making them less bothered by surrounding stimuli. Basic obedience cues with tasty rewards will also help to reduce unwanted behaviour. Tibetan Terriers, Poodles, Westie’s, and Chihuahuas are Bell Boy breeds that love to alert their owners.

1. The Bell Boy

Bell Boys are very intelligent, making them more conscious of ‘threats’ to the home. For example, they’ll likely be the first to let you know when a delivery driver is close by. A trained Bell Boy will bark and rush to their owner to check they’ve heard him or her, before retreating to his bed and letting you answer the door. So, owners should focus on create a boundary around the front door by teaching their dog to settle in bed and rewarding them for doing so. Using a variety of toys will help to sustain the Bell Boy’s interest throughout the day, making them less bothered by surrounding stimuli. Basic obedience cues with tasty rewards will also help to reduce unwanted behaviour. Tibetan Terriers, Poodles, Westie’s, and Chihuahuas are Bell Boy breeds that love to alert their owners. | Unsplash

Protectors naturally want to protect their territory and can be suspicious of other dogs and humans. Lots of socialising and rewarding your pup with high value treats for good behaviour with other dogs is the best way to combat this. As naturally good problem solvers, they may turn to misplaced chewing unless re-directed. Avoid squeaky toys, which can over excite and trigger negative behaviours, and instead focus on proactive play such as fetch or tug. Protectors are easily trained, so tapping into their problem-solving brains with obedience cues is a great way to keep them occupied. They might like to follow your around the house, so train a settle cue for a designated safe space in each room. The Protectors tend to be larger breeds such as Akitas, Dobermans, and Rottweilers.(Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

2. The Protector

Protectors naturally want to protect their territory and can be suspicious of other dogs and humans. Lots of socialising and rewarding your pup with high value treats for good behaviour with other dogs is the best way to combat this. As naturally good problem solvers, they may turn to misplaced chewing unless re-directed. Avoid squeaky toys, which can over excite and trigger negative behaviours, and instead focus on proactive play such as fetch or tug. Protectors are easily trained, so tapping into their problem-solving brains with obedience cues is a great way to keep them occupied. They might like to follow your around the house, so train a settle cue for a designated safe space in each room. The Protectors tend to be larger breeds such as Akitas, Dobermans, and Rottweilers.(Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Jokers are independent thinkers and natural comedians. They know exactly what they want, which can lead to attention seeking behaviours to get their way. These ‘tantrums’ mean you might find the Jokers shredding cushions or chewing on table legs.
Plush toys are best avoided as they’re easily shredded by the Joker. Instead, opt for some non-squeaky or interactive toys to channel their fun-loving personality. Training a perfect fetch is great for reducing frustration with a quick high impact energy burn.Practicing basic cues, like sit, down, and stay, every day with the Joker can help to reduce jumping and barking for attention.
Frenchies, Bostons, Bull Terriers, and British Bulldogs are great examples of the Joker personality.

(Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for the American Kennel Club)

3. French Bulldog

Jokers are independent thinkers and natural comedians. They know exactly what they want, which can lead to attention seeking behaviours to get their way. These ‘tantrums’ mean you might find the Jokers shredding cushions or chewing on table legs. Plush toys are best avoided as they’re easily shredded by the Joker. Instead, opt for some non-squeaky or interactive toys to channel their fun-loving personality. Training a perfect fetch is great for reducing frustration with a quick high impact energy burn.Practicing basic cues, like sit, down, and stay, every day with the Joker can help to reduce jumping and barking for attention. Frenchies, Bostons, Bull Terriers, and British Bulldogs are great examples of the Joker personality. (Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for the American Kennel Club) | getty

Workaholics love being on the go - they’re high energy and enjoy working hard for their owners through training and play.
If their workaholic nature isn’t satisfied, these dogs may become bored and turn to barking, jumping, and chewing. Long lasting interactive toys or chews are a great way to minimise this unwanted behaviour.
Workaholics are eager to please and thrive on being busy, so daily obedience practice with positive rewards, such as treats or non-squeaky toys, are a great way to keep them occupied. Make the most of their drive to ‘sniff and find’ with hidden toys in the home or garden.
With their love of sniffing and searching, Cocker Spaniels, Border Collies, and German Shepherds display classic Workaholic traits.

4. The Workaholic

Workaholics love being on the go - they’re high energy and enjoy working hard for their owners through training and play. If their workaholic nature isn’t satisfied, these dogs may become bored and turn to barking, jumping, and chewing. Long lasting interactive toys or chews are a great way to minimise this unwanted behaviour. Workaholics are eager to please and thrive on being busy, so daily obedience practice with positive rewards, such as treats or non-squeaky toys, are a great way to keep them occupied. Make the most of their drive to ‘sniff and find’ with hidden toys in the home or garden. With their love of sniffing and searching, Cocker Spaniels, Border Collies, and German Shepherds display classic Workaholic traits. | Pixabay

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