A dog’s breed doesn’t determine its personality, suggests a new study based on genetic data from thousands of dogs across the United States.
, which has collected survey and genetic data on thousands of dogs across the United States since 2015. Owners answer more than 100 questions—ranging from how friendly their pups are with strangers to whether they like to chase squirrels—and then send in a cheek swab for DNA sequencing.
When it came to physical traits, such as size and floppy ears, genes ruled. At least 80% of a dog’s appearance can be tied to its DNA, the team found. But most behaviors did not have a strong genetic component, including playfulness around other dogs and whether a dog circles before it defecates. “That probably has a lot more to do with where you take your dog to poop,” says Elinor Karlsson, director of vertebrate genomics at the Broad Institute, who oversaw the study.
Still, after decades of treating, showing, and judging countless breeds, AKC’s chief veterinary officer, Jerry Klein, disputes the study’s conclusions. “I think most dogs conform to the personality standard of their breed,” he says. Purportedly older breeds, he says, such as Tibetan mastiffs and basenjis—few of which were enrolled in the study—may have more hardwired personalities because they’ve been around longer.
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