Studies show that dog behavior does not differ significantly between different breeds



Until now, dogs have been thought to have different behaviors depending on the breed, but new research shows that there is not much difference in behavior between breeds.

Ancestry-inclusive dog genomics challenges popular breed stereotypes

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abk0639



Dog behavior has little to do with breed, study finds | Animal behavior | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/apr/28/dog-behaviour-has-little-to-do-with-breed-study-finds

Dr. Kathleen Morrill and Dr. Eleanor Carlson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Eumas Chan Medical School have first owned their own dog owners as an open data resource for collecting phenotypic and genetic data. Developed ' Darwin's Ark ' that can register dog data. A comprehensive approach that combines enrollment data with low-pass sequencing provided the large samples needed to investigate complex traits.

There were a total of 18,385 samples, 49% of which were purebred. When the research team analyzed the genetic data of 2155 of these, about 9% of the behavioral variability could be explained by breed.

Dr. Carlson commented on this, 'In many cases, there was no significant difference between varieties.' On the other hand, although there is no such thing as 'behavior that only has a certain breed', for example, beagles often go away, and pitbulls and retrievers tend to be excellent in human sociability and can easily spend time with strangers. Was done. In addition, there are 'differences' derived from ancestors, and the breed used as a sheep dog was more obedient to humans than other breeds.

However, these differences are large depending on the individual, and it is difficult to predict that 'because it is such a breed, it will behave like this.'



The research team also conducted behavioral analytics on mongrel dogs of particular breed ancestry to determine if genes were involved. As a result, it became clear that certain traits have a stronger genetic component than other traits. For example, a mongrel dog that doesn't mind getting wet has a Labrador retriever whose ancestors are known to be good at swimming. However, it was not related to sociability, and it became clear that not all behaviors are inherited.

'We should care more about the dog in front of you than about the behavioral and personality effects of our ancestral breeds,' Dr. Carlson said.

'Genes provide insights into the population, but little is clear about the individual,' said Daniel Mills, a professor of veterinary behavioral medicine at Lincoln University who was not involved in the study. It's not surprising that genetics has little to do with the aggression of dogs, 'he criticizes the law for specific dog breeds.

in Creature, Posted by logc_nt