As it's revealed dogs are either optimists or pessimists, try our expert's quiz: Is your dog a miserable mutt - or a happy hound?

By Celia Haddon
Updated: 01:56 EST, 13 October 2010

What sort of dog have you got? Is it one of life’s ­worriers, scared of everything from the postman to the family cat?

Or is he a happy bundle of joy, always hopeful of getting an extra treat?

Dogs, like humans, are either ­pessimists or optimists, according to new research published by ­scientists this week. 

The former are more likely to suffer ‘separation anxiety’ when their owners leave them at home, and they scratch worriedly at the door and whine.

So which is your dog?

Here’s a light-hearted quiz to discover if your pet thinks the water bowl is half-empty or half-full.

1 As you do your daily tasks round the house, does your dog ...
a) Get on with his normal life, occasionally pausing to see if you are in the mood to pet him or give him something nice to eat?
b) Move from room to room following you, with occasional breaks?
c) Follow you everywhere — even into the loo?

2 As you are sitting watching TV in the evening, where is your dog?
a) Either on your lap, sitting on your feet or pressed up against you.
b) In his normal sleeping place, either his bed or in an armchair.
c) Close to you, but not touching you.

3 A stranger knocks at your door. Does your dog...
a) Accompany you to the door in an alert but neutral fashion?
b) Bound to the door, tail wagging, ready to lick the stranger to death?
c) Lurk a few feet away from the door, tail lowered, barking and ready to back away?

4 If you leave your dog at home, when you come back, he...
a) Greets you joyfully with such a fuss that it is difficult to make him settle down.
b) Greets you by lying on his back and urinating.
c) Greets you with pleasure but ­settles down to normal after a minute or two.

5 Which of the following does your dog do in front of you?
a) Sit with his head lowered offering a paw.
b) Just sit looking relaxed with head up gazing at you.
c) Sit with his head up, but still offering a paw.

6 On Bonfire Night, does your dog...
a) Hide under the stairs?
b) Go berserk trying to dig himself a hole, and then loses control of his bladder?
c) Show that he doesn’t like the noises much but sits with the ­family in his normal way?

7 When you take your dog out in the car (if the weather is cool and it is safe) do you...
a) Leave him in the car for a bit, knowing he will settle down for a nap?
b) Have to take him with you, ­otherwise he wrecks the interior by chewing the seat coverings?
c) Leave him in the car but only in a covered-up crate, otherwise he barks and whines at passers-by?

8 How does your dog normally react around other people?
a) Panting, even though he’s not hot, with ears flat on his head, body low and tail down.
b) Pulls back his mouth and shows his teeth, with ears back, ready to retreat. May do explosive barking.
c) Tail is high and wagging, ears are forward and expression is interested.

9 What sort of household noises worry your dog?
a) Beeps, washing machine noises, buzzers, doorbells, phones ringing, gunfights on the TV, footsteps of people in the street, even scuffling sounds in the wainscot — you name it, it bothers him.
b) He reacts to loud noises from nearby roadworks or sudden noises like a saucepan falling on the kitchen floor.
c) He reacts to practically ­nothing, though he might notice if there was a full-scale gas explosion.

10 How does your dog behave around heavy traffic?
a) He walks happily on the lead beside you without a care in the world, even when lorries are ­thundering by.
b) He presses closely against your legs and seems reluctant to walk out. He cowers if a noisy lorry drives by. Sometimes he refuses to move and has to be carried.
c) He walks on the lead but keeps looking up at you as if to say: ‘I don’t really like this place.’

11 When you let your dog off the lead, he...
a) Plays with the other dogs and has a great time
b) Stays very close to you, and may snarl or attack if other dogs come near.
c) Approaches other dogs with caution, but plays with them after a bit.

12 Has your dog ever bitten anybody?
a) Not yet, but sometimes he’s looked as if he just might.
b) Unfortunately yes.
c) Never. He’d even wag his tail for a burglar.

13 Did your dog come from...
a) A rescue organisation?
b) A breeder with just one litter of puppies kept inside her home?
c) A place selling lots of puppies, a man selling door-to-door, or a breeder with several litters for sale at the same time?

14 When you throw a ball for your dog, does he…
a) Run after it but stand about 10ft away holding it, with lowered tail and a look of anxiety as if he’s scared of being punished?
b) Run after it and bring it back tail wagging, but try to get you to chase after him for it?
c) Run after it and bring it back to you, knowing you will throw it again?

15 How well does your dog learn if you try to teach him a trick?
a) Poorly. He is confused, can’t concentrate, gets easily ­distracted and doesn’t seem to understand. The noise of a ­training clicker terrifies him.
b) Excellently. He loves the attention, wags his tail, remembers what he has been taught, and will even try doing new things to get even more praise.
c) Moderately well. He will ­concentrate for short sessions and can be taught what is necessary, though he doesn’t seem to enjoy it much.