Stereotypes and prejudices
Stereotypes are ideas that people have about other individuals based on their physical appearance or certain representative characteristics. This leads us to prejudge, even before knowing.
The Pygmalion effect
The Pygmalion effect is the influence that one person can have on another based on the preconceived idea they have about them . That is, stereotypes can modify reality.
According to this, it would not be unreasonable to think that the social ideas we have about dogs based on their physical characteristics can affect their character and behavior.
This would occur as a consequence of the different ways we have when relating to dogs depending on their physique, for example, their size.
The small dog gene
Scientific studies have shown that all dogs weighing less than 9 kilos have the same mutation in a gene . This mutation is specifically found in the IGF1 gene , responsible for secreting growth hormone. This mutation would have given rise to the appearance of small dogs.
But is this gene associated with bad behavior?
A study published in 2008 establishes a relationship between some behavioral problems with the size of dogs. According to this study, smaller dogs would be, for example, more prone to biting, while large dogs would show a greater capacity to pay attention to the handler and would be more trainable.
What are these studies based on?
These types of studies, which relate the behavior of our dogs to their genes, are based on a series of surveys carried out on a large number of families with dogs.
These families are asked about the behavior of their dog, subsequently comparing this data with its morphology and DNA sequences. Subsequently, it is analyzed statistically, if there is any correlation.
The results found seem to show certain patterns. This makes the existence of a genetic factor in canine behavior undeniable.
So can we know how a dog will behave by looking at its DNA?
Several scientific investigations are being carried out along this path.
The reasons are mainly two:
- On the one hand, the neurobiology of behavior problems seems to have a conserved evolution in mammals, so dogs could be a powerful model for understanding human disorders.
- On the other hand , behavior problems are the first reason for animal abandonment in Spain, so selective breeding based on good behavior could help solve this problem.
Behavior is more than a handful of genes
Despite the progressive appearance of all these scientific findings, we cannot reduce the behavior of our dogs to a set of genes.
A multitude of environmental factors interact with genes, giving rise to behavior as we observe it. And very predictably, these external factors have a greater weight in the result.
Environmental factors that influence canine behavior
- The state of well-being of the mother at the time of giving birth to the puppies and her abilities to care for the litter.
- The experience and previous training in its care and education of the people who live with the dog.
- The training and learning that the dog has had during its life. Especially in the most important periods for proper socialization, which are usually the first months.
- The correct satisfaction of the dog’s daily needs , such as the amount of exercise it performs.
- Your health status.
With all this, the question could be if… is there a real relationship between genes and canine behavior? Or, since genetics has a direct relationship with morphology, and morphology has a relationship with how we treat dogs…
Would it be more appropriate to think that canine behavior is a consequence of the differential treatment that humans give to dogs based on their physical traits? That is, are small dogs condemned to be “bad” by stereotypes?
References:
Duffy, D. L. et al. 2008. Breed differences in canine aggression. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 114(3-4), 441-460.
Sutter, N. B. et al. A single IGF1 allele is a major determinant of small size in dogs. Science, 316(5821), 112-115.
Zapata, I. et al. Genetic testing of dogs predicts problem behaviors in clinical and nonclinical samples. BMC genomics, 23(1), 1-19.
