The dog, it is said, is man's best friend (although cat owners might dispute that). But not any old dog is an ideal pal. A prospective owner should choose a pooch that matches his or her personality, a Canadian psychologist says.
Prof. Stanley Coren, author of "Why We Love the Dogs We Do" (Simon & Schuster, $16.80), studied 6,000 dog owners and devised a system for determining which type of canine suits which type of person. For extroverted, trusting men like Winston Churchill, he says, clever pooches like poodles, Dobermans or German shepherds are ideal.
But for those who don't do well in the trust department -- Richard Nixon is the cited example -- the independent breeds such as Irish setters, pointers or foxhounds are preferred. Shy women, he says, should go for Dalmatians or greyhounds, while the more extroverted, such as Elizabeth Taylor, are better off with "consistent" dogs -- Chihuahuas, dachshunds or Pekingese.
Mismatching dog and owner can create problems. "Nearly half of all puppies bought as pets do not successfully make it through the first year with the people who adopt them," Coren says. But a successful match-up can pay handsome dividends for the pooch: More than a million dogs have been beneficiaries in their owners' wills.
