Study Finds Dog Breed Plays Insignificant Role in Predicting Animal's Behavior, Including Aggression

A new study contradicts typical human stereotypes regarding dog breeds and behavior, including aggression that many argue, can be found in certain types.

The research paper, which was published on Thursday, is where scientists studied the link between genetics and dog behavior. It discovered the breed played an insignificant role in predicting a dog's behavior and personality.

Dog Breed and Aggression

The study's findings suggest that this appears to be especially true for traits that many people commonly associate with a dog's personality, including cuddliness, friendliness towards strangers, and aggression.

The co-author of the study, Marjie Alonso, who is also the executive director of the IAABC Foundation, the charitable arm of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, said that what a dog looks like will not tell someone how the animal acts.

The study, which was published in Science, observed the genes of more than 2,000 dogs paired with 200,000 survey answers from dog owners about their pets' behaviors. The researchers then examined data only on dogs that live primarily as companion animals. They did not include how genes influence working dogs bred to perform specific tasks, as per the Washington Post.

Another co-author of the study, Elinor Karlsson, who is a geneticist from the University of Massachusetts, said that there was a huge amount of behavioral variation in every dog breed. She added that at the end of the day, every dog is an individual that has its own behavior and personality.

Karlsson said that pet owners enjoyed talking about their pets' personalities, citing some examples of owners at a New York dog park. One owner, Elizabeth Kelly, said that her English springer spaniel was "friendly" but also said she had the attitude of a "queen bee." On the other hand, Suly Ortiz said that her yellow Lab was "calm, lazy, and shy."

According to the Associated Press, Rachel Kim's mixed-breed dog is "a lot of different dogs, personality-wise," saying it was independent and affectionate, but was wary of other dogs and people. This enthusiasm was what inspired Karlsson's scientific inquiry. She wanted to know to what extent behavioral patterns are inherited.

Inherited Behaviors

However, the study does not claim that there are no differences among dog breeds or that breed cannot be used to predict some traits of the animals. Karlsson said that if you were to adopt a Border collie, it would be easier to train and become interested in toys much easier than other breeds.

Researchers also found something that seemed to be paradoxical at first, behavior patterns are strongly inherited. The behaviors they studied had a 25% heritability, a complex measure that indicates the influence of genes. However, it depends on the group of animals involved in the research.

But while behaviors are strongly inherited, the genes that shape whether or not a dog is friendly, aggressive, or aloof, date from long before the 19th century when most modern breeds were created. Since then, the breeding of dogs has focused primarily on controlling the physical characteristics of the animals, the New York Times reported.