Humans began to alter the appearance of dogs by selecting certain cosmetic traits. However, as time passed, we started to assign personalities to specific breeds. New research has shown that a dog’s breed is only a factor in their appearance. It has very little to do with their personality.
While humans and dogs first teamed up to perform tasks such as hunting and guarding, herding and herding, dogs have become less functional over time. As institutions such as CruftsModern humans went nuts for purebred chihuahuas performing Swan LakeBreeders and dog enthusiasts alike started to assign certain breeds personality types. But, do these personality types hold true for all breeds?
Understanding the temperament and needs of an animal can help you decide if they are a good choice for your home or farm. If assumptions about breed are incorrect, animals could end up in homes that are not suitable for them and with legislation such as the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991UK would be ineffective.
Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley published a paper to assess how breed influences dogs’ traits. Dog GenomicsThe DNA sequence was done on over 2,000 dogs that were enrolled in the Darwins Ark community science program. The study included a mix of purebred and mixed breed dogs. Their DNA sequences were matched with owner surveys about their behavior to find correlations between their genotypes (DNA) and their phenotype (their appearance, behavior).
Their results showed that certain breeds have many physical traits, but not the same behavior. Biddability, the ability for a dog follow human instructions, was the most genetically associated behavior.
Borders collies such as those who participated in the Genius Dog Challenge were among the most biddable. However, individual differences remain. However, the breed’s genotype was not associated with human sociability, which is a trait commonly associated with retrievers.
The minimal influence a breed has on their behavior in this study renders them a poor predictor of individual behaviour and should not be used for decisions about the selection of a pet dog. Researchers say. It is more likely than not that environmental factors play a larger role in dogs personalities.
The takeaway: You shouldn’t shop out of catalogs,” Elinor Karsson, director for vertebrate genomics at Broad Institute, who oversaw the study, stated. Science. “Each dog is an individual.
