Paws in YOUR Places
Because your dog has place preferences, too!
Hi Club!
Last summer, we stayed near a long stretch of beach where you drive out on the packed sand. When I parked to walk with my dog, Gryphon, I wasn’t alone – every other car nearby had at least one canine companion too. This isn’t rare in our world anymore…and I’m ALL FOR IT! I meet travelers with non-human companions everywhere, including Cormack the pig, who was my campground neighbor for a stretch.
But here’s what I’ve observed: not all dogs travel the same. Sure, breeds give some indication of favorite places, but not always. On that beach walk, I watched an Australian Shepherd completely displeased with the wide open, choosing instead to launch into his car’s open hatchback even when a ball was thrown.
The Making of Paws in YOUR Places
Why stop at humans? After helping people discover their place personalities, creating a place personality quiz for dogs felt like the natural next step. Dogs clearly have preferences about where they feel comfortable and what experiences bring them joy.
My Process for Pattern Recognition
What do I do when I want to help people understand something important about their lives? I usually follow this process:
Start pulling together evidence from real experiences
Go through journals and observations
Research existing knowledge
Mash it all together to identify common characteristics
You’ve heard me talk about how patterns emerge (mostly in the middle of the night) until I have a clear feel for the distinctions. My scientific method may not pass academic scrutiny, but what emerges? You guessed it – another assessment.
Drawing from Personal Experience
My Gryphon turned 15 in September, and when I think back on our travels together, I cherish every one – even the learning moments. Like the 4th of July at Palmer Lake, Colorado, when I thought it would be great to have him with us. Nope. When the fireworks started, he couldn’t get under our Bronco fast enough. I thought about these mishaps as I developed the traits, hoping to save you from making the same mistakes with your four-legged friend.
Professional Insights Shape the Framework
In my work with people, some of my favorite moments involve witnessing the bond between humans and their service, therapy, or support animals. I once flew from Munich next to Frieda, a Great Dane, and watched how perfectly in sync she was with her person. I pulled from those experiences, too.
The Unexpected Complexity
When I first sat down to create the Paws in YOUR Places questions, I thought I was building a simple tool to help dog owners understand their pets’ travel preferences. What I ended up with was something far more complex: a mirror reflecting not just our dogs’ personalities, but the profound ways they shape us, challenge us, and ultimately save us from ourselves.
The Breakthrough Moment
Much like with the YOUR Places Stamps, the key insight came when I stopped thinking about permanent personality traits and started considering life stages and situational preferences. Just as humans might be extroverted in some contexts and introverted in others, dogs shift between different aspects of their personalities depending on their age, health, energy level, and relationship with their humans.
The Challenge of Simplification
This assessment was particularly tough to whittle down without feeling left with just generalities. I hope the four stamps provide insight into your pup without leaving too much wanting. Yes, just like humans, canines get stamps too. See below.
The Final Framework
The four stamps I ultimately developed – Loyal Shadow, Social Ambassador, Chill Explorer, and Comfort Seeker – aren’t meant to lock dogs into rigid categories. Instead, they’re starting points for understanding the complex patterns of how our dogs experience the world. Many dogs will see themselves in multiple types, and that’s exactly the point. Like their humans, dogs contain multitudes.
The Loyal Shadow: “Your Devoted Co-Pilot”
These dogs measure happiness by proximity to their favorite human. They follow you from room to room, prefer intimate settings over crowded spaces, and look to you for guidance in new situations. Their ideal vacation is anywhere you are, as long as they can stay close. Think quiet hiking trails, scenic drives, and cozy cabins where bonding is the main activity.
The Social Ambassador: “Your Networking Specialist”
The extroverts of the dog world, these pups thrive on social energy and bustling environments. They greet everyone enthusiastically, love busy dog parks during peak hours, and get genuinely excited by crowds. Their perfect destinations include pet-friendly festivals, busy farmers markets, and dog-friendly breweries where they can work the room like the four-legged social butterflies they are.
The Chill Explorer: “Your Adventure Buddy”
These are the adaptable adventurers who thrive on variety and new experiences. They’re confident, curious, and love diverse landscapes and terrains. Unlike Loyal Shadows who want consistency, or Social Ambassadors who want crowds, Chill Explorers want novelty. They’re perfect for multi-city road trips, park adventures, and urban exploration where every day brings something new.
The Comfort Seeker: “Your Cozy Companion”
These dogs gravitate toward safe, calm, home-like environments. They prefer peaceful settings with minimal stimulation, need time to adjust to new places, and find happiness in familiar routines and comforts. Their ideal trips involve luxury pet resorts, quiet lakeside cabins, or charming small towns where the pace is slow and the atmosphere is tranquil.
Why Four Made Sense
The challenge wasn’t finding differences between dogs – it was limiting myself to just four categories. But as I observed patterns, these four themes kept emerging:
The need for connection (Loyal Shadow), the drive for social interaction (Social Ambassador), the desire for variety and adventure (Chill Explorer), and the preference for peace and predictability (Comfort Seeker).
What’s beautiful is that like humans, dogs can shift between these personalities depending on their age, health, mood, and circumstances. Gryph, for instance, has been primarily a Loyal Shadow throughout his life, but I’ve seen glimpses of the other three types during different phases and situations. As a young dog, he was more of a Social Ambassador, gradually becoming a Comfort Seeker as he aged. His Chill Explorer years were some of my favorites and only strengthened his bond with us.
The goal isn’t to label your dog permanently, but to understand their current patterns so you can plan experiences that honor who they are right now, while remaining open to how they might evolve.
The Journey Lives On
As I write, I’m acutely aware that Gryph and I are nearing the end of our shared journey. But the lessons he’s taught me about love, loyalty, and the importance of presence will continue long after he’s gone. The Paws in YOUR places assessment isn’t just a place-finder tool; it’s for every dog who has chosen to make a human their whole world.
Whether your pup is young and energetic or old and wise, whether they’re just beginning their journey with you or nearing the end, remember that every day with them is a gift. Every quiet moment, every gentle adventure, every simple act of choosing each other over all other options is a small miracle.
Travel with them while you can. Explore the world through their eyes. Let their love of quiet moments and simple pleasures remind you what really matters. And always remember that in choosing you as their favorite place, they’ve given you the greatest form of love.
I’d love to know whether these stamps capture your dog’s personality. (I’m hearing it gives some insight into felines, too.) Does your pup fit neatly into one category, or do you see them shifting between multiple types like Gryph?
I’m still in the early testing phase, so your feedback is invaluable. Whether the stamps hit the mark or miss completely, I want to hear about it. Your real-world experiences with your four-legged travel companions will help refine this tool for other dog lovers navigating the world with their best friends.
Drop a comment below. Every insight helps me understand if I’m onto something or if it’s back to the drawing board.
Thanks. Please tell your dog I say “hi”,
Natalie
ALSO: Please join me this week as I guest post on Benthall Slow Travel @thebenthalls. It’s a pen pal postcard series for the current age. We’ll be sharing stories about the nomad lifestyle. Gryphon’s a part of it, too.
This is such a great idea to include dogs in travel preferences!! They are wonderful companions during all our adventures in life. Gryphon, no doubt, has enjoyed every moment of his 15 years with the best family!
I love all of this!!! Bear, our “just-turned-5-year-old” Shepherd mix loves being outdoors with us. He falls into most of the four categories - though not a snuggler, he likes to be near us. We RV and do light hiking, and daily walks were he can be off leash and he LOVES it. He is friendly with people and I can see he really wants to be friends with other dogs. But he’s socially awkward (like me 🤣), and he ends up barking at them inside of playing. 🐶