Intrigued by my having "typed" my dog as an ENFP, a couple of friends shared their thoughts and photos. Charlie, a black lab is described as an ESFJ: He takes in his world through his nose and is very focused on his objectives whether it is fetching the ball or trying to steal a sandwich from a human. 
Layne, a yellow lab is typed as an ENFJ: This picture is him wondering where everyone else is and why aren't they having as much fun as he is…..add a ball to this equation and watch out….
You may think we are nuts to play this little game with MBTI but we are just practicing our craft...and having a little fun. We care about our animals and are curious about their behavior. But as practitioners, our curiosity about human behavior cannot be satisfied by whimsy. We have studied and are trained in theories and tools to ensure that when we work with people and teams, we are not making capricious or harmful judgments about why people behave the way they do.
It is human nature to judge people, their personalities and their behavior. Indeed, human beings are curious, social perceivers and it starts very early in life....in the sandbox or even earlier. As social perceivers we develop the skill to judge people and label them using our own individual theories and tools which may actually cause harm to ourselves and to others.
We see it in life every day, at work, at school, on TV. Consider the recent experience of the judges on "Britain's Got Talent" who classified Susan Boyle by her appearance as an old woman with no talent. Until she opened her mouth to sing. We cannot be dooped by our social perceptions because they can lead us astray and leave us lonely and isolated. Have you been misjudged? misperceived? Have you done so to others and missed some hidden treasures as a result?
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