Breed Differences in Behavior There are several approaches to classifying behaviors. We shall review four of these: breed differences in behavioral neoteny; breed differences in social signaling; breed differences in prevalence of behavior problems; and opinions of dog experts on behavioral characteristics of various breeds. There are obvious physical differences among dog breeds and, although behavior does not vary as widely as size and skeletal features, there are marked breed differences in behavior. In fact, many lectures on canine genetics begin with a statement about genetic differences in behavior, but few of the genes are known. Dr. Yukari Takeuchi and her colleagues at Tokyo University have made the most progress and we will review their findings here.
Expert Opinion of Breed Behavior Differences The largest study of opinions of breed differences is that of Hart and Miller (1985). They surveyed 48 veterinarians and 48 obedience judges as to 13 traits in 56 breeds of dog. The thirteen characteristics were: excitability; general activity; snapping at children; excessive barking; demand for affection; territorial defense; watchdog barking; aggression toward other dogs; dominance over the owner; aptitude for obedience training; ease of house breaking; destructiveness; and playfulness. The breeds were ranked by decile. Dogs in the tenth decile rank higher than 90% of other breeds for that characteristic. Those in the first decile rank below all the other breeds in that characteristic. Let us compare three breeds: the beagle, golden retriever and German shepherd. The beagle ranks in the eighth decile for excitability, the ninth for general activity, the fi fth for snapping at children, the ninth for excessive barking, and the third for demand for affection, the third for territorial defense, the fourth for watchdog barking, the fi fth for aggression toward other dogs, the eighth for dominance over the owner, the fi rst for obedience training and ease of house breaking, the seventh for destructiveness, and the fi fth for playfulness. The beagle is hard to obedience train and housebreak, barks a lot, and is inclined to be dominant over the owner. The German shepherd ranks in the fi fth decile for excitability, the fourth for general activity, the fi fth for snapping at children, the sixth for excessive barking, the third for demand for affection, the ninth for territorial defense and watchdog barking, the eighth for aggression toward other dogs, the seventh for dominance over the owner, the ninth for obedience training, and the eighth for ease of house breaking, the ninth for destructiveness, and the seventh for playfulness.
German shepherds are good watch dogs and easy to train, but destructive and inclined to be dominant over the owner. The golden retriever ranks in the second decile for excitability, the fourth for general activity, the fi rst for snapping at children and for excessive barking, and the seventh for demand for affection, the fi rst for territorial defense, the third for watchdog barking, the fi rst for aggression toward other dogs and dominance over the owner, the ninth for obedience training, and the sixth for ease of house breaking, the fi rst for destructiveness, and the eighth for playfulness. Golden retrievers are trainable and playful, but not aggressive. Principle components analysis revealed 3 factors – reactivity, aggressiveness, trainability – and a fourth factor that included playfulness and destructiveness. Cluster analysis of breeds with similar traits revealed seven clusters. It is interesting that snapping at children clusters with reactivity, not with aggression. They also found that those surveyed believed that there were large differences between intact males and females in behavioral traits. Females were more trainable and males were more aggressive.
Bradshaw et al. (1996) performed a similar study in which veterinarians and dog-care professionals rated various breeds of dogs on a 13 point scale. Factor analysis revealed three traits: aggressivity, reactivity, and immaturity. This resulted in eight groups which did not correspond to the breed groupings. Examples are high aggressivity, average reactivity, low immaturity (Rottweiler); high aggressivity, average reactivity, high immaturity (Jack Russell); average aggressivity, low reactivity, low immaturity (British bulldog); average aggressivity, high reactivity and low immaturity (toy poodle); low aggressivity, average reactivity, high immaturity (English setter); low aggressivity, low reactivity, low immaturity (Greyhound); low aggressivity, high reactivity, low immaturity (King Charles spaniel); average aggressivity, average reactivity, average immaturity (Samoyed). Dog breeds are typically divided according to historical usage into Working, Hunting, Herding, Hound and Terrier groups plus the toy group, and, in some countries, a separate Gun dog group. When the results of a temperament test involving reactions to strangers who attempt to play tug of war with the dog are compared to the historical use of the dog (for guarding, hunting, etc.), there is little correlation, but there is a similarity in response within a breed.
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