The breed of a dog does not determine its behavior, according to a study

Well-known stereotypes about dog behavior, such as Rottweilers and Pit Bulls being aggressive, or Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers being super friendly, are debunked by a new study of their behavior.

This is a genetic research published Thursday in the journal Science in which some 200,000 responses to questionnaires made to the owners of more than 2,000 dogs were analyzed, which shows that assuming that breed and character are linked is unfounded.

To be sure, many character traits can be inherited, but the modern concept of breed offers only partial predictive value for most behaviors, and almost none for how affectionate a dog can be, or conversely. so quickly he can become hostile.

“While genetics play a role in any dog’s personality, your specific breed is not a good indicator of those traits.”according to Elinor Karlsson, author of the study conducted by UMass Chan Medical University, the Broad Institute and Harvard University.

“What we found is that the criteria that define a golden retriever are its physical characteristics – the shape of its ears, the color and quality of its fur, its size – and not whether it is friendly”added the scientist.

Lead researcher Kathleen Morrill explained that understanding the relationships between race and behavior may be the first step in understanding the genes responsible for psychiatric conditions in humans, such as obsessive-compulsive disorders.

“However, we cannot ask dogs about their problems, thoughts or anxieties, we know that dogs have a rich emotional life and experience disorders that manifest in their behavior”, he said in a phone call with the press.

legal implications

The research team sequenced the DNA of 2,155 purebred and mixed animals to find common genetic variants that could predict their behavior and combined this information with responses to interviews with 18,385 pet owners from Darwin’s Ark, an initiative of open data where owners describe the traits and behaviors of their pets.

Because existing stereotypes are so powerful, the researchers designed questionnaires to account for owner bias.

The researchers established standard definitions for reporting traits such as obedience, human sociability (how comfortable dogs are with people, including strangers), and toy-related motor patterns (how interested they are in toys).

Physical and aesthetic features were also part of the study.

In all, Karlsson and Morrill found 11 points in the dog genome associated with behavioral differences, including obedience, returning objects, pointing and yelping.

Among these behaviors, breed played a role, for example, beagles and bloodhounds tend to howl more, border collies are more manageable, while Shiba Inus are much less so.

But there are always exceptions to the rule.

For example, even though Labradors had a lower tendency to howl, 8% did. Or while 90% of greyhounds did not bury their toys, 3% did so frequently.

“When we looked at the factor we call agonistic threshold, which included a lot of questions about whether dogs reacted aggressively to things, we didn’t see a true effect of racial ascendancy.” Karlson said.

Overall, race explained only 9% of behavioral variants, with age being a better predictor of some traits, such as toy use. However, physical traits were five times more likely to be predicted by race than behavior.

The idea goes against widespread assumptions that have influenced legal frameworks. For example, the United Kingdom has banned pit bull terriers, as have many cities in the United States.

human disorders

Before the 19th century, dogs were selected for their functional roles such as hunting, guarding, and herding, the research team says in their study.

“In contrast, modern dog breeds put the emphasis on confirmation of physical ideals and purity of lineage, it is a Victorian invention,” the document says.

Modern breeds carry genetic variations from their predecessors, but not in the same frequencies, explaining the difference in behavior between breeds.

The next steps, Morill says, would be to dig deeper into compulsive behaviors in dogs, and their connections to obsessive-compulsive disorders in humans.

One intriguing finding is that dogs’ sociability toward humans was “incredibly inherited in dogs,” even without depending on their breed.

The researchers found a point in canine DNA that could explain 4% of the differences in sociability between different individuals, and that point corresponds to an area of ​​the human genome responsible for the formation of long-term memory.

“It could be that understanding dogs’ sociability with humans helps us understand how the brain develops and learns. So we’re just scratching the surface.” Morill pointed out.