Does Breed Matter? Reaction to Dog Breed and Behavior Study

Brian and Sarah react to the recent study on dog breed and behavior which has caused some controversy in the dog world. Brian and Sarah both have graduate degrees in Animal Behavior and bring a neutral, nuanced take on the results.  Both were also listed in the acknowledgments section of the paper as they were on the original brainstorming team for the owner survey questions.

If you have mixed feelings about this research, you are not alone, and we hope this helps you process the results.

The study: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk0639?fbclid=IwAR2oVInOjq0bjZ4SJU9TsCZOb1XqI3P_hiEmtqdCVBjYyO7kjM4_TNtmVOc

Twitter thread by one of the authors (Dr. Elinor Karlsson): https://twitter.com/eenork/status/1520450288095797251

The Atlantic article: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/04/dog-breed-personality-characteristics/629707/

New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/28/science/dogs-breed-behavior-genes.html

Popular Science: https://www.popsci.com/science/biggest-myth-about-dog-breeds/

NPR: https://www.npr.org/2022/04/28/1095390872/dog-breeds-behavior-study