A Tale of Two Temperaments 🐶
I've been a mom to two dogs. One of them was a 12-pound badass shaped like a sausage. The other is equal parts poodle, cocker spaniel, and teddy bear.
Note: To learn more about what temperament is (and isn't), check out the ITS article for older kids/teens and parents, Temperament: A Little Role Play.
A Little Background on Temperament
Your Natural "Wiring"
Temperament Offers Context
For kids and teens, exploring temperament can help them better understand themselves and others. It gives them context for questions like: "How come Aleesha isn't afraid of rollercoasters and I am?" "Why do I need more time to chill after school than my friends do?"
It's not just humans that have temperaments. Dogs and cats do too! By observing a pet's behaviors and body language, kids can see clear examples of different temperaments and make connections to their own wiring. This offers insight into their feelings, needs, behaviors, and outlook. If you don't have a pet at home, you can talk with kids about their aunt's dog or friend's cat.
Understanding our inborn tendencies helps us be less self-critical and more self-supportive. It also helps us find just the right coping skills for our unique wiring. That might look like, "Not wanting to go whitewater rafting over Level III rapids does not make me 'lame'." It also gives us room to ease into discomfort... "I might be willing to paddle through a Level I though.😉"
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A Tale of Two Temperaments
Cosmo & Lucy
The other day, I was outside with my canine kid Cosmo when I witnessed a squirrel's near-death experience. Cosmo was chasing the poor guy, and he became trapped. I quickly tried to grab my pup before he committed murder.
Cosmo
As I sprinted over, the squirrel ducked behind a flower pot. Cosmo went over to investigate, but just sniffed and made squeals of excitement. He had a clean line of attack on his new "friend" - but was only interested in resuming Zoomies. Turns out, Cosmo isn't a killer. (Btw, the squirrel safely escaped.)
Cosmo gives Winnie the Pooh energy (with some Piglet thrown in). He's a nervous dude. He sniffs every piece of food offered to him just in case you might be trying to poison him. When it rains, he'll head over to a family member with a penetrating stare that asks, "Big noise come from sky soon?" Cosmo is a smart, curious, gentle, over-thinking, worry-filled, canine kid. That's his temperament. It's how he's wired.
Lucy
His older sister was his temperamental opposite. Lucy passed away in 2020 at the age of almost 18. She was tough, but not aggressive. When she entered a room, it was like the sheriff entering the saloon in one of those old spaghetti westerns.
Lucy was born in Texas. During her first 9 years, she patrolled our backyard for possums. More than once, we had to forcibly bring her inside as she went toe-to-toe with a hissing marsupial as big as she was. If Cosmo is Winnie, she was Bey:
