Monday, April 28, 2014

Why A Dog’s Look Doesn’t Always Predict Personality

Dog owners choose their pets for many reasons.  Looks, previous experience with a particular breed, or because of desirable characteristics of certain breeds – like dogs that aren’t known for digging, or those that interact well with young children.
Even pet owners of mixed breed dogs often expect their pet to behave a certain way based on looks or assumptions about the different breeds believed to be present in their dog’s genetic makeup.
But your dog’s makeup consist of 20,000 genes, and only around 50 of those genes account for a dog’s appearance.  The other 19,950 genes determine the dog’s internal makeup including brain development and behavior.  This infographic from Animal Farm Foundation explains why each dog is an individual and why you can’t always predict a dog’s behavior based on looks alone.
So maybe this explains why your Labrador and German Shepherd mix howls like a Hound.

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