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Dog Breeds and Their Behavior

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Domestic Dog Cognition and Behavior

Abstract

Domestic dogs display an extraordinary level of phenotypic diversity in morphology and behavior. Furthermore, due to breeding practices introduced during the nineteenth century, these phenotypic traits have become relatively ‘fixed’ within breeds, allowing biologists to obtain unique insights regarding the genetic bases of behavioral diversity, and the effects of domestication and artificial selection on temperament. Here we explore differences in behavior among the 30 most popular dog breeds registered with the American Kennel Club based on owner responses to a standardized and validated behavioral questionnaire (C-BARQ©). The findings indicate that some breed-associated temperament traits (e.g. fear/anxiety) may be linked to specific gene mutations, while others may represent more general behavioral legacies of ‘ancient’ ancestry, physical deformity, and/or human selection for specific functional abilities. They also suggest that previous efforts to relate dog breed popularity to behavior may have failed due to the confounding effects of body size.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Although dogs have also been employed, from time to time, as food items or as a source of fiber, such uses were relatively limited and localized, and most of the types of dog developed for such purposes are now extinct (Serpell 1995).

  2. 2.

    This population of nervous pointers was created by researchers during the 1960s to serve as an animal model of human anxiety disorders.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    James A. Serpell & Deborah L. Duffy

Authors
  1. James A. Serpell
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  2. Deborah L. Duffy
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Correspondence to James A. Serpell .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Columbia University Barnard College, New York, New York, USA

    Alexandra Horowitz

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Serpell, J.A., Duffy, D.L. (2014). Dog Breeds and Their Behavior. In: Horowitz, A. (eds) Domestic Dog Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-53994-7_2

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