Discover Your Dog’s Five Element Personality!

The Five Element Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a great tool for

understanding your dog and possibly, yourself. The personality and behavioral aspects of this

ancient technique provides a fresh view for how to see the world around us. As you learn more,

you will never look at things the same way.

In this brief review we look at a segment of TCM’s Five Element Theory which includes

personalities, emotions, physical characteristics, and potential maladies. This fun approach can

both gift us with “aha!” moments and settle our souls with helpful information that can’t be

found anywhere else.

You may see several elements reflected in your dog, however, there will be one that clearly

stands out. Once you identify your dog’s predominant element you can support him or her with

simple lifestyle measures to keep your pup balanced and happy.

In the scenario below there will be typical coat colors for each element. Because there is so

much variety in coat colors and combos, this may or may not be relevant. Look more towards

the personalities, needs, and wants of your dog to determine his/her element.

This interpretation is not meant to diagnose or treat but to open our eyes and help us create

harmony in our home. Have fun!

The Scenario

Five people lead their dogs into an obedience class. The first dog, brawny, brown and black,

struts in, pulling a bit on the leash while assessing the “competition” around him with a

confident air.

In bursts the second dog, a flashy red dog who pulls at the end of his leash and excitedly wags

his whole body as he changes direction to say hello to everyone and anyone. 

The third dog, a bit pudgy and yellow, looks to his handler with worried eyes and nuzzles the

treat bag while wildly wagging his tail as he tries to ignore the flashy red dog. 

The fourth dog is lean, angular, greyish tan, and walks quietly along the handlers’ side paying

absolute perfect attention to the bubble of his owner and himself.

And lastly the fifth dog, mostly black, comes in slowly and quietly, head down and eyes up

moving slightly behind the handler, aware of every movement around her and yet confident…

until she is not.

Each of the five dogs represent the common behavioral and physical characteristics associated

with the Five Element Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Stay tuned! There will be 5 total blog articles to help you find out Who’s Who!

We’ll start with the Wood Dog…

The Wood Dog

The Wood Element dog thrives on movement, competition, and leadership. This dog usually

ranks high in the “pack” in any circumstance where there are multiple dogs such as dog parks,

competitions, and even possibly at home, if they do not have a strong human leader. Wood

Dogs need clear boundaries from their humans. A human partner being clear, consistent, and

firm will easily earn respect from a Wood Dog, however, they will test us regularly just to be

sure someone is in charge.

Wood Dogs are always alert and aware. In the human world we often relate the Wood Element

archetype to being an army Sargent or a world class competitor. They are unflinching under

pressure and will take charge if they see a weakness or an opening.

Wood Dogs are fast learners. They love challenges, competition, and variety. When training,

they may become impatient or irritable if there is too much repetition. Honoring their need to

move will make any training easier, so first give them a good run, play, or a long walk and they

will be more focused and less impatient with the methodical acts of training. Competition is

their main goal so find ways to fill that need. Agility has all the components they love:

challenge, speed, movement, variety, and competition. If your Wood Dog is competing he will

most certainly be pushing himself to the absolute limits of his body so be sure you are

supporting his performance with massage, chiropractic, acupressure and supplements,

particularly after competitions.

On a physical level the most important health need for the Wood Dog is movement. Give them

plenty of walks or runs. Don’t skimp on their time working or training or you will have an over-

active and impatient dog on your hands. They are athletically gifted animals and need that

movement and challenge to create balance and harmony within the Wood element.

The common ailments and body parts affected by imbalances in the Wood Dog are tendon and

ligament injuries, muscle soreness, liver issues, digestive issues, eye conditions, and right sided

issues like muscle tension and stiffness. Movement can both help and hinder most of these.

Keeping muscles strong will mean less tendon/ligament tears and less stiffness. Active

movement helps the liver flush toxins better and aids digestion as it balances the Wood

element Qi. Balancing the Wood element Qi encompasses both solid leadership from the

handler, regular movement that meets their need for challenge and activity, and utilizing

supportive therapies for the amazing athletes that they are.

The default emotion for the Wood Dog is anger, causing aggression, impatience, and

frustration. Many Wood element dogs become working police dogs. Anger is their archetypal

stress response and can be balanced by giving clear, firm, and consistent boundaries,

competent leadership, challenging work and exercise, variation to life experiences, and of

course, praise and kindness.

The Old Wood Dog

The Wood dog does not take getting old very gracefully. They are not used to limitations with

their bodies and will almost always be incredibly frustrated and grumpy as aging takes hold. His

mind that is still raring to go, along with his strong determination and drive, can wreak havoc on

his aging body. Continued senior support of acupressure and massage will help, as will long

walks out in a familiar forest or venue. As they continue to age, multiple short walks with some

variety of scenery and smells will be an effective way to counter stiffness and keep his mind and

nose stimulated.

Teaching your fast learner Old Wood dog some new tricks will keep him engaged and feeling

successful. There are several great books out there on this. Enrichment activities are abundant

and finding what “gently challenges” your aging Wood Dog may be a simplified version of an

event or play style that he loved and found success with in his early life. He will always need to

be successful at something to be happy and balanced.

Stay Tuned to our Blog for the next Element - The Fire Dog!