What dog are you? essay

Dogs are said to be man’s best friend. They can be a great companion and a good friend to people. Numerous stories have been told about a dog that served bravely in wars or risked its life to save a person in danger. Dogs can also fit easily to a family life. They have been domesticated for over a long period of time—in fact, for most of the human history. Dogs have existed since the prehistoric times.

Today, there are various dog breeds that can be found all over the world. They exist in wide varieties of colors, sizes, built, and temperament. Some common breeds that can be found in the households nowadays and kept as a pet are Shih Tzu, Pug, English Labrador, German Shepherd, Cocker Spaniel, Dachshund, and Yorkshire Terrier, among others. Like humans, each of them has its own characteristics and personality that describe who they are and make them unique from other dog breeds. Some dogs are friendly, sweet, loving, playful, loyal, and intelligent. However, there are also some dogs that are aggressive, stubborn, moody, sensitive, and lazy. Hence, it is no wonder why a lot of humans love to have dogs as their pet because of the different personality traits and behavior that a dog manifests that makes them a good pet, companion, and friend to humans (“ The Dog”). Answering the exercise “ what dog are you? ” is really fun and exciting.

Associating a human’s personality trait to a dog’s is amazing and very entertaining as well. The result of my tests states that the breed “ Lowchen” is a match to my personality. The Lowchen or “ the little lion,” which is the English translation for this German breed and also known as “ petit chien lion,” have a long and silky coat trimmed in the traditional lion clip. Like many of the dog breeds, their nose is also black, and their round, dark eyes on their short head appear intelligent, while their skull looks broad.

A Lowchen’s body is short, and it is well proportioned with a medium length tail. They are not considered as a toy dog even though they are relatively small. The Lowchen used to be a designer lapdog during the 16th century in Europe. The popularity of their breed dwindled down in the modern times and almost died out after the Second World War. On the other hand, the Lowchen were rescued by enthusiastic breeders during those times and are now considered as one of the common companion breed dogs of humans (O’Neill 62). Lowchen dogs are described as lively, cheerful, and affectionate dogs. They are highly intelligent, sociable, and very eager to learn and to be trained. These dogs are fearless; they are not afraid of any kid of challenges.

However, they can be gentle and sensitive also at times. They are very active and outgoing dogs, and they can easily adapt to their environment. There are times when these dogs can be arrogant, but they are strong willed, tough, and robust. Lowchen are considered to be a watch dog. However, while they are very alert, they have a tendency to be friendly to everyone which does not make them a good guard dog. They are also observed to be very gentle and to enjoy playing with children. They can be also friendly to other animals, even to other larger breeds of dogs.

Due to their gentle and adaptive nature, the Lowchen are breeds that are easy to care for. They romp vigorously in the yard, run gracefully beside their owner or master during walks even when they are on a leash, and curl up in the lap to sleep. They are the type of breed that is people-oriented and very inquisitive as well.

They always want a lot of attention from and interaction with their owners, and they do not like to be left alone for long periods of time (Welton 168). Though named as a German dog, the Lowchen breed is said to originate from France. Lowchen dogs are said to be a member of the Bichon family. Bichon family consists of Bichon Frise, Maltese, Bolognese, and the Havanese. All of these breeds are thought to originate from the Mediterranean. Hence, the Lowchen are also well known in Spain and Germany (“ Lowchen”). The Lowchen’s height usually ranges from 10 to 13 inches (about 25 to 33 centimeters), while they way an estimate of 9 to 18 pounds or 4 to 8 kilograms.

They are sturdy pets. They also have straight silky coat that should be brushed or combed everyday to prevent tangles and remove the dead hair. However, the owners of this breed also have a choice to trim or have the Lowchen’s coat clipped to be well groomed every four to six weeks. As they shed little to no amount of hair, they are excellent pet for people with allergies (“ Lowchen the Little Lion Dog Petit Chien Lion”). They can appear in any color or combination of colors. They can be solid white or may have light tan or lemon shadings on their ears (Welton 168).

The Lowchen are a very healthy breed; their life expectancy is about 12 to 15 years, although in rare cases, they live up to 18 years or more. The oldest Lowchen in history lived for an amazing 29 years. They can have a minimum of three puppies to a maximum of six. As mentioned earlier, they can highly adapt to any kind of environment regardless of where their owner lives, be it in the city, suburbia, or country. Therefore, there is no problem with a Lowchen staying and living in an apartment even though the place does not have a yard, as long as it gets to walk and exercise from time to time. Ideally, everyday exercise is needed by the Lowchen. Relatively, short walks can already make them physically fit and make their life more fun and interesting.

They have a lot of energy, and they love to play even for a number of hours. Compared to other toy breeds, the Lowchen can be strong-willed and stubborn, although they respond very well to training as long as it is fun and exciting to them. Giving rewards and a lot of praises will encourage them to utilize their natural intelligence and learning ability (O’Neill 62). Generally, the Lowchen are healthy dogs, but they are prone to having cataracts, patellar luxation, and progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) (O’Neill 62). They are very sensitive to anesthetics, different types of vaccines, and even chemicals. In addition, they should not be sedated or casually medicated as well. The Lowchen, which are less than four pounds, are said to be more at risk to hypoglycemia or having a low blood sugar (Welton 168). Looking at the different features and knowing the personality type of Lowchen make it easy to know whether the result of the exercise I took is relatively correct.

I have absolutely found a lot of similarities with the Lowchen breed to my personality, and I found these similarities very amusing. The people close to me, such as my family and my friends, describe my personality in the same way as how the Lowchen’s characteristics are described earlier. Being cheerful, lively, affectionate, sociable, and intelligent are some of the personality traits that I and the Lowchen breed have in common. I believe that I have these qualities, and I am confident and proud to say that Lowchen and I have a lot of similarities when it comes to their personality and temperament. Since I only know several types of breed of dogs that exist today, discovering a lot of information about the Lowchen breed has been very interesting and informative.

It has also been a pleasure to learn the different character traits and personality of this specific dog breed. Furthermore, it is also amazing to know that a dog breed’s personality and character can be compared to human beings. Perhaps, this is why dogs can easily communicate and understand human beings.

They have this connection that makes them a good companion and a pet. That is also the reason why humans and dogs can live harmoniously and happily together. Dogs are one of the most important animals that live in the world today. Hence, we should treat them with respect and give them a lot of love, care, and attention.