Who ’s a estimable boy ? The question has offend the pursuit of pet owners anddogsalike for centuries . Certainly , not wipe out your employment shoes counts . But does breed ? According to a new written report , belike not .
Research published in the journalSciencesurveyed 18,385 dog owner and value the behavioral trait of their furry roommates , inquiringabout everything from work to mother baths . Then they compare the results to DNA sequence of 2155 dogs .
The results affirm what animate being experts have long suspect : While stock are honest marker for forcible characteristics , they can be a piteous indicator of personalities . Dogs that may have a reputation for friendliness or aggression may not display either ; dog known to be more easily trained may not listen too well .
Take the gilded retriever , renowned for its forwardness to bring . Many goldens in the study were , owners account , happy to do nothing when prompted to get a chunk .
Overall , just 9 pct of adog ’s behaviorvariations can be assign to breed .
There are exception . Border collies may be a little more paying attention to proprietor , while huskies are more prostrate to howling . But the research points to a detent ’s personality being mold by its surround , with breed character being just one determining factor .
What ’s the takeout food ? That owner should n’t use breed alone as a guidebook when choosing a bounder . “ I do n’t think that we should really be deciding that stock are the affair that will separate us whether we will be felicitous with a hound or whether a dog will be happy with us , ” Marjie Alonso , one of the study ’s writer , told NPR . “ We do have to consent that our dogs are someone . Each dog is a study of one . We desire to accept our dogs for who they are . ”
[ h / tSmithsonian ]
