Genetic testing predicts appearance but not behavior in dogs

What is it about?

Some genetic tests marketed to pet owners claim to predict dog behavior using only a few genes. These tests are based on studies that average behavioral data across dog breeds. While this approach works well for identifying genetic associations to physical traits, it is poorly suited for studying complex behavior, as dog breeds are distinguished by physical characteristics but lack distinct behaviors. We reanalyzed findings from these earlier studies using individual genetic and behavioral data from more than 3,000 dogs in the community science project Darwin’s Ark. After controlling for breed and body size, we found no association between previously identified genetic variants and behavior. The variants were, however, associated with appearance and highly correlated with breed, suggesting previous results were confounded by population structure.

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Photo by Leo_Visions on Unsplash

Photo by Leo_Visions on Unsplash