The Color Code works great on people. What about pets? Do they have personalities too? Fascinating question.

Every animal lover knows that yes, animals do have very distinct personalities. I remember my old dog Xander. He was definitely a Yellow. He was all about fun. Very extroverted. Xander had to be in the middle of the action ALL the time. He HAD to meet everybody. Everyone HAD to pet him. After that, it was play time! If you didn’t play and run with him, he’d grab something of yours and take off with it to make you chase him! Fun. Fun. Fun.

My mother-in-law’s dog was completely different. She got a new puppy: Aunt Bee. You would think a puppy would be even more playful. Nope. I would describe her as more of a Red. She was all business. She didn’t like all of Xander’s horse play and monkey business. It annoyed her and made her mad. Even as a puppy she liked to be in charge. The top dog. She did not enjoy or appreciate Xander’s antics. Xander would come up to her with a toy. He would try to tease her and entice her into playing. She would have no part of it. When Bee’s patience wore thin, she would actually start to growl and snap at Xander when he approached to play. Amazing for a puppy.

Our second dog was Blitzen. He was very different from Xander. He was a great dog. Very intelligent. He trained very quickly. In Color Code, I’d say he was a Blue. Very dependable. Very loyal and responsible. He was a perfectionist about following the rules. Xander meant to follow the rules. He just got distracted by all the fun and forgot sometimes. Not so with Blitzen. At his first obedience class I put him in a sit stay. There was a wild mob of crazy puppies all running around him playing. He was still a puppy himself but he would not budge. They ran into him. Chewed on his ear. Grabbed his tail. Still he sat and watched for my command. Amazing control.

Xander was all play. Blitzen was all work. His ‘job’, as he saw it, was to guard the children. He constantly patrolled the house and the yard checking on people. After his rounds he would go sit quietly somewhere off in the corner where he could keep an eye on things. He always followed the rules and he expected the kids to follow the rules also. When they got too loud and rambunctious he would get upset. He started running around them in circles. Gently nipping at their heels to herd them into a safe pocket where he could get them to settle down some. Xander never did this. He would have been in the middle, jumping and playing right along with them.

Blitzen was introverted. He usually liked to go sit by himself somewhere. He also worried a lot. The kids were his flock to look after. When they went out the gate to play with the kids down the street, he panicked. He couldn’t go along! He was absolutely frantic with worry the entire time they were gone. Nothing could distract him. When they did come back home for dinner he had to carefully inspect everyone and check them over. Make sure there were no injuries. Then he moped around like he felt guilty that he let everyone down for the day. Xander? Completely different. He would have been mad at first that the kids took off without him. He would have forgotten all about that a moment later when a butterfly wandered past. He would have instantly made a game out of chasing the butterfly! When the kids came back he would have been excited and ready to play again.

Do animals have distinct personalities? Yes. Some are quiet and timid. Some are exuberant and playful. Some are careful and worry. Some are bold and dominating. They are born with an innate primary core motive. Just like people. And guess what? They have conflicts, behavioral and relationship problems too! What is your personality? What it the personality of your pet? What about other family members and other pets? How do they all get along or have conflict? Can you use the Color Code as a guide to deal with pet problems too? Absolutely.

Xander needed to play. You can’t leave a dog like that locked up in a house all day and then come home and expect him to just sit quietly and behave. You are going to have bad behavior as a result. Xander would actually get mad if he didn’t get enough play time and attention. He would start tearing things up and destroying stuff around the house. –Things he knew were wrong and ordinarily would never do. Consider his color. This dog NEEDS fun. Take him out for a walk/run. Not feeling that energetic after work? Play a game of fetch. Let him do all the running. Just like with people: help him obtain his core motive, then sit back and watch the magic.

When he is not playing poker or living in his 20’ Sioux tipi in the Rockies, Marshall Barrington lives in a small quiet Swedish town in central Kansas with his family.  He has degrees in Business Administration, Marketing and Psychology.  He trains, hires and manages new insurance adjusters to process claims at catastrophe sites.  He is also a Certified Color Code trainer.  His highly acclaimed classes apply Color Code to specific problems:  Management, Sales, Human Resources, Dating, Marriage, Parenting and a new workshop for Fiction Writers -Using Color Code to create realistic Characters, conflict & dialogue.