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hubie writes:

Work challenges popular idea that breeds have specific, reliable behaviors:

When Kathleen Morrill was 12, she decided she needed a puppy. [...] And so, the family ended up with its first dog—a 2-month-old pup she named Tod.

Tod was registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC), whose website describes his breed as "curious" and "friendly" with a "hardy constitution." But the puppy was shy and scared of strangers, and he developed separation anxiety as he aged. [...] "Breed can be important," Morrill says, "but it's not the full picture of a dog's behavior."

Now, she has the science to back that up. In a new study, Morrill and her colleagues show that almost none of the behaviors we associate with dog breeds—from lovable Labradors to pugnacious pit bulls—are hard-wired. Aside from a few ancient traits, environment seems to play a much larger role than pedigree.

[...] In the largest study of its kind, the team compared the genetic and survey data of nearly 2000 dogs—most of which had their entire genomes sequenced—and survey results from an additional 16,000 pooches. The pups included mixes and purebreds, with 128 breeds represented.

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.

[...] Behavior was another story. Less than one-quarter of the differences in personality from dog to dog could be explained by genetics. [...]

[...] And when it came to dog breeds, personality varied widely within the same pedigree.

[...] The bottom line, she says: If you're looking for a dog with a specific personality, "you shouldn't shop out of a catalog. Each dog is an individual."

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.

Klein also contends that if the researchers look beyond breed to classes of dogs—such as sporting dogs (which include a variety of spaniels) and scent hounds (such as basset hounds and beagles)—they would find their behaviors are more similar to each other than they are to other dogs. "It's not as simple as just the breeds."

For the reading-averse, there is also a nice YouTube summary of the research.

Journal Reference:
Kathleen Morrill et al., Ancestry-inclusive dog genomics challenges popular breed stereotypes, Science, 376, 2022
DOI: 10.1126/science.abk0639

Original Submission