One of the things I love most about dogs is just how different they can be.

A chihuahua and a Great Dane are both dogs but you could be forgiven for wondering how they ended up in the same species. They differ enormously in size, appearance, energy levels and, often, personality.

A border collie may spend its day looking for something to herd, while a beagle is more interested in following a new scent wherever it leads. A labrador may greet everyone as a potential new best friend, while a more reserved breed may prefer to stand back and assess the situation first.

These differences are not accidental. Over generations, people have selectively bred dogs for particular jobs and characteristics. Herding dogs were bred to notice movement and respond to direction. Terriers were developed to chase and catch small animals. Retrievers were bred to carry things gently. Sighthounds were selected for speed and the ability to spot and chase prey.

It is therefore hardly surprising that many behaviours we see in our dogs are predictable. Their breeding has given them particular tendencies and instincts. Understanding those tendencies can help us understand why our dogs behave the way they do.

But underneath all those differences, there is a remarkable amount of similarity.

Every dog still has the same basic needs. They need food and water, rest and sleep, safety and security. They need social interaction, appropriate exercise and opportunities to behave like dogs. They need to feel safe with the people around them. They need to understand their environment and have some sense of control over what happens to them.

A working Border Collie and a pampered chihuahua may have very different ideas about how best to spend a Tuesday afternoon, but both want to feel safe, comfortable and cared for.

This is something worth remembering when we look at animals as individuals. Breed characteristics can tell us a great deal, but they don’t tell us everything. Every dog is also an individual, with its own experiences, preferences and personality. A breed may give us clues about what a dog is likely to enjoy or how it may react, but it doesn’t write the entire story.

And perhaps there is a quiet lesson in that for us, too.

People can look, sound and behave very differently, and we have enormous differences in our backgrounds, personalities and experiences. But underneath all of that, our basic needs are remarkably similar.

We all need to feel safe. We need connection, rest, food and somewhere we belong. We want to be comfortable, understood and cared about.

Perhaps dogs make this easier to see because they don’t spend much time worrying about these differences. A dog is generally far more interested in whether you are kind, whether you make them feel safe and whether you have something good in your pocket than what you look like.

There is something rather lovely about that.

Different on the outside, perhaps. But underneath it all, the things that matter most are often surprisingly similar.

• Lucy Richardson graduated from Edinburgh University in 2005. She started CedarTree Vets in August 2012 with her husband, Mark. They live at the practice with their two children, Ray and Stella, and their dog and two cats. She is also the FEI national head veterinarian for Bermuda