Genetics and education: How to influence the nature of our dogs!

Genetics and education: How to influence the nature of our dogs!

Ludmannsdorf, Österreich - dogs, the best friends of humans: Why do they show such different behaviors? The topic was recently examined by international experts in Ludmannsdorf. At the invitation of the therapy dog ​​teams Carinthia, the zoologist and behavioral researcher Udo Gansloßer explained that the behavior of dogs is not only shaped by their upbringing, but to a significant part also by their genetics. He outlined the concept of the "human-gene", which gives domestic dogs an extraordinary ability to read human emotions and intentions, as ORF Carinthia reports .

Gansloßer's analysis of list dogs is particularly interesting. These animals, often referred to as "fighting dogs", have a friendly nature. Her upbringing plays a crucial role, as Gansloßer emphasized: "Depending on whether I or not I have a dog to the human -friendly social dog or not, it makes a very big influence." Dog breeds can have certain trends in behavior, but the behaviors vary greatly among the individual animals themselves. This supports the results of a comprehensive study that recently from Morrill et al. was published. This study shows that the racial affiliation often has no reliable predictive value for the behavior of individual dogs, such as All around Dog reported .

genetics and diversity of behavior in dogs

Research has shown that the racial lineage of a dog has an impact on its physical characteristics. However, the behavior of dogs is much more variable, which means that breed alone often does not allow a reliable statement about the specific properties of a dog. Obeyfulness, an important behavioral feature, can be inherited from racial specifications, but here too there are big differences between individuals. Genetic influences are only part of the equation, environmental influences and individual education are also crucial for the development of a dog.

Finally, the study by Morrill et al. note that the individual properties of a dog, such as human conviviality and game behavior, are influenced by a variety of genetic factors and the environment. This underlines the complexity of dog behavior research and the need for a differentiated view of dog keeping, which takes into account the unique needs and properties of each animal.