What Attracts You?

I often wonder this. What attracts people to the particular breed or mix that they get. It’s a typical question I ask during many private sessions, especially with puppies. The answers vary from someone liking the look of the dog, to someone knowing someone with the same breed and they loved it, to the lesser heard answer, we did tons of research and this is the breed that we came up with.

So what attracts you? Is it body type, looks, energy level, knowing a prior example of the breed, having had the type before, trainability, sociability etc.?

I can tell you, I am not 100% certain why I am (unfortunately) attracted to terriers. I love them, particularly the jacks, rats, pats, jag’d and any smooth or lightly broken terrier type dog. I am a hard no on many other breeds/types … like a really hard no. Even the beautifully easy ones that would make training a dream. Except bulldogges, but that’s another harsh lesson for a different day. I often wondered how it came to be, this weird, obsessive terrier attraction.

Terriers aren’t easy, in fact, they tend to be the opposite of easy in many ways. They seem to enjoy being anti-social. They are like having a festering wound that won’t heal. They are like having a tooth pulled … every other day. They are like that little dude you bring to the club who likes to stare at and start shit with other people … without fail. They have that holier than thou attitude and serial killer vibes. They are like having a best friend on speed. They have a sarcastic sense of humour and a wicked right hook. They will do anything for you, as long as they can do it their way. They love you hard, but if they see a rodent, they will conveniently forget your name, phone number and postal code. They are little assholes, and I love them. I assume my attraction may stem from being gluten for punishment, but, I digress.

So what attracted you to your particular breed/type? Are you like me, and you’re not really sure, you just thought you’d try it out? Or are you a researcher? Have you had many dogs before and came to love the predictability of a certain breed? Do you enjoy low or high energy breeds?

I do wonder, as well, if it’s opposites that attract, or if like attracts like? If the latter is the case, I can promise you I don’t have serial killer vibes.

Let us know what attracted you to your dog. I will post this on both Instagram and Facebook and feel free to share your thoughts or stories.

Happy training!