Our beloved dogs are one of the most diverse species on Earth.

With the numerous dog types out there, it’s almost impossible to know them all.

Dog breed has a lot to do with humans’ adoption decisions. Humans typically prefer one dog breed over another and even believe that breeds dictate a dog’s behavior.

Most people believe that Golden Retrievers are sweet and friendly while pit bulls are more aggressive and may pose more harm.

But is this always 100% true? Since most humans base their adoption decisions on these things, it’s about time we find out the truth behind these assumptions.

First off, there are hundreds of dog breeds out there. They are generally categorized into one of these classifications: working dogs, sporting dogs, non-sporting dohs, terrier dogs, toy dogs, hound dogs, and herding dogs.

Throughout the years, different organizations have updated and kept their record of the number of dog breeds in the world.

American Kennel Club has 195 breeds recognized while the Federation Cynologique Internationale has a whopping 300.

It’s quite difficult to keep an accurate count of breeds because of the emergence of countless mixed-breed canines.

Now that we know this, let’s move to the real question: is dog breed closely linked to behavior?

According to varying studies, this assumption is not entirely true.

A great example is a long-standing belief that pit bulls aren’t ideal to adopt as domestic pets. But more and more people are having the time of their lives having pit bulls as their loyal furry friends.

A published study reveals that dog breed is actually a poor predictor of dog behavior. The author also recommends that it should not be utilized in making informed decisions in pet selection.

In the said study, 18,385 dog owners participated in a survey where they had to answer questions about their dogs’ personalities, daily routine, and mannerisms.

The survey includes biddability, toy-directed modern patterns, and dog-human sociability. Furthermore, the dogs were also subject to physical observation.

Additionally, the research team sequenced the DNA of about 2,155 purebred and mixed-breed dogs. Karlsson and Morril found 11 dog genome locations where behaviors are different.

Some of the behaviors they found to be tied to the dog’s breed are how bloodhounds and beagles tend to howl more and how border collies follow command a lot better than the others.

But for other types, this isn’t the case. 8% of Labradors are more likely to howl even if this breed is generally known to have the lowest chance of howling. 90% of greyhounds do not have the tendency to bury their toys while the 3% do.

“We’d expect that if Labrador retrievers are genetically more human-social, we should see mutts with more Labrador retriever ancestry to be more human-social,” Dr. Elinor Karlsson, the senior author of the study, shared.

However, the results they garnered said otherwise. Human sociability isn’t necessarily dictated by dog breed since environmental factors may play a huge role as well.

Thus, using dog breed as a basis for your adoption may set you up for disappointment.

“They should pay much less attention to all the stories about their dog’s breed ancestry says about their behavior and personality and pay attention to the dog sitting in front of them,” Karlsson urged.

Adopting a dog means loving every trait and every mannerism. It’s important to not have any expectations about who they will be so you can spend your time and energy loving the beautiful dog that they already are.

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Source: The Animal Rescue Site