Explorer

Your dog's personality may have little to do with its breed

Washington, Apr 28 (AP): Research confirms what dog lovers know — every pup is truly an individua.

Washington, Apr 28 (AP): Research confirms what dog lovers know — every pup is truly an individual.

Many of the popular stereotypes about the behaviour of golden retrievers, poodles or schnauzers, for example, aren't supported by science, according to a new study.

“There is a huge amount of behavioural variation in every breed, and at the end of the day, every dog really is an individual,” said study co-author and University of Massachusetts geneticist Elinor Karlsson.

She said pet owners love to talk about their dog's personality, as illustrated by some owners at a New York dog park.

Elizabeth Kelly said her English springer spaniel was “friendly, but she's also kind of the queen bee.” Suly Ortiz described her yellow Lab as “really calm, lazy and shy.” And Rachel Kim's mixed-breed dog is “a lot of different dogs, personality wise — super independent, really affectionate with me and my husband, but pretty, pretty suspicious of other people, other dogs.” That kind of enthusiasm from pet owners inspired Karlsson's latest scientific inquiry. She wanted to know to what extent are behavioural patterns inherited — and how much are dog breeds associated with distinctive and predictable behaviours? The answer: While physical traits such as a greyhound's long legs or a Dalmatian's spots are clearly inherited, breed is not a strong predictor of any individual dog's personality.

The researchers' work, published Thursday in the journal Science, marshals a massive dataset to reach these conclusions — the most ever compiled, said Adam Boyko, a geneticist at Cornell University, who was not involved in the study.

Dogs became humanity's best friend more than 14,000 years ago, as the only animal domesticated before the advent of agriculture.

But the concept of dog breeds is much more recent. Around 160 years ago, people began to selectively breed dogs to have certain consistent physical traits, like coat texture and color and ear shape.

The researchers surveyed more than 18,000 dog owners and analyzed the genomes of about 2,150 of their dogs to look for patterns.

They found that some behaviours — such as howling, pointing and showing friendliness to human strangers —do have at least some genetic basis. But that inheritance isn't strictly passed down along breed lines.

For example, they found golden retrievers that don't retrieve, said co-author Kathryn Lord, who studies animal behaviour with Karlsson.

Some breeds, such as huskies and beagles, may show a greater tendency to howl. But many of these dogs don't, as both the owner survey and genetic data showed.

The researchers could find no genetic basis for aggressive behaviours nor a link to specific breeds.

“The correlation between dog behaviour and dog breed is much lower than most expected,” said Jeff Kidd, a geneticist at the University of Michigan, who had no role in the research. (AP) AMS AMS

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)

View More
Advertisement
Advertisement
25°C
New Delhi
Rain: 100mm
Humidity: 97%
Wind: WNW 47km/h
See Today's Weather
powered by
Accu Weather
Advertisement

Top Headlines

'Motion' To Remove Jagdeep Dhankhar As Rajya Sabha Chairman Dismissed On Technicality. Here's What Happened
'Motion' To Remove Dhankhar As RS Chairman Dismissed On Technicality
Rahul Gandhi Sports Blue T-Shirt To Protest Ambedkar's 'Insult'. Know Why Blue Is Linked With Dalit Resistance
RaGa Sports Blue T-Shirt To Protest Ambedkar's 'Insult'. Know Why Blue Is Linked With Dalit Resistance
Bihar MLA Ritlal's Brother Accused Of Shooting At AIIMS Security Officer Surrenders To Police
Bihar MLA Ritlal's Brother Accused Of Shooting At AIIMS Security Officer Surrenders To Police
'I Never Thought...': Ravichandran Ashwin Responds To Father's Controversial Remarks
'I Never Thought...': Ravichandran Ashwin Responds To Father's Controversial Remarks
Advertisement
ABP Premium

Videos

Rahul Gandhi Linked to Incident That Led to BJP MP Mukesh Rajput’s HospitalizationBJP MP Mukesh Rajput Hospitalized in ICU After Alleged Push by Rahul GandhiHeated Exchange in Parliament as Opposition Targets Amit Shah Over Ambedkar RemarksLucknow Protest Turns Tragic: Congress Worker Dies, Police Investigation Underway

Photo Gallery

Embed widget