Breeds and Behavior - Bradley Reprint From Bark NEW[1]

8/3/2019 Breeds and Behavior - Bradley Reprint From Bark NEW[1]

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/breeds-and-behavior-bradley-reprint-from-bark-new1 1/3

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www.nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com

ByJanisBradleyReprintedfromTheBark,No.64(April/May2011)

I’minterviewinganewclientwhosedogtendstobarkandchargeandniptheheelsanddanglinghandsofretreatingstrangers.Herdogissmallishandstocky,withacoarsemedium-lengthcoatofmottledblue-gray,black,whiteandbrown.

Hisnoseandearsarepointy.WhileIreassureherthathisbehavioractuallymakessensefromhisdoggypointofview,a

littlevoiceinmyheadwhispers,“Whatdidsheexpect?ShegotaCattleDog.”Ihavelittledifficultydiscountingtheclient’s

ownplaintiveclaimthatshe’shadCattleDogsallherlifeandthisisthefirstonewho’sactedthisway.“Youwerelucky

untilnow,”mylittlevoicesays,assumingthosedogsweresomehowtheexceptions.Butwhenanotherclientcomplains

thathislarge,square-headed,short-coated,yellowdogisgrowlyaroundhisfoodbowl,Itakehisstatementthat“noneof

myotherLabshavedonethis,”atfacevalue.Thecurrentdogisclearlytheexception.Afterall,mylittlevoicesays,

“everyoneknowsLabslovepeople.”

_________________________________________________

ThesourcematerialforthisarticleisapaperbyJanisBradley,publishedbytheNationalCanineResearchCouncil,entitled“TheRelevanceofBreedin

SelectingaCompanionDog.”

“[E]ven reliable

identification of the

ancestry of a

mixed-breed dog

by itself wouldn’t

help us predict an

increased

likelihood of

known, genetically

driven traits.”

My little voice is probably wrong.

Often,weassumethateachbreedcarriesitsownsetofhard-wiredimpulses,whichare

particularlydifficulttoalter,evenwithsoundbehavior-modificationtechniques.Weeven

expectthesepresumedgeneticpredispositionstocarryovertomixed-breeddogswho

physicallyresembleaparticularbreed.Dogprofessionalsareaspronetothesebiases

aseveryoneelse.We’velearnedthemaspartoftheconventionalprofessionalwisdom,

andourexperiencesseemtoconfirmthem – notsurprising,sincecurrentbehavioral

andneurosciencestudiesshowthathumanbrainsconsistentlypreferdatathatsupportwhatwealreadybelieveanddisparageanythingthatcontradictsit.Totopitoff,a

noddingacquaintancewiththeburgeoningfieldofcaninegeneticsresearch

indisputablydemonstratesconnectionsbetweengeneticsandbehavior.Onenewstudy

evenappearstohavefoundthelocationsonthemapofthecaninegenomethat

accountforpointerspointingandherdersherding.

Sowhynotusebreedasawaytochoosetheparticularpuppyordogwho’slikelyto

helpusfulfillthedreamoftakingaperfectlybehaved,friendlydogtocheerthelivesof

peopleinnursinghomes,beendlesslytolerantwithourkidsorhavethekindofindefatigableenthusiasmforretrievingthatmakesagoodcontraband-sniffingdog?

Howaboutusingbreedstereotypestoguidepublicpolicydecisionsonwhethersome

dogsaremorelikelythanotherstopresentadangertopeople,orsimplytoassess

whetherthatdogcomingtowardusmeansusgoodorill?

BREEDS AND BEHAVIOR“They’re not like other dogs” – or are they?



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Turns out it’s not that simple.

First,thereisthe“whatkindofdogisthat?”question.

Probablyatleasthalfoftheestimated77.5milliondogsin

theU.S.aremixedbreeds.It’scommonpracticeamong

peopleworkinginrescuesandshelterstoidentifythedogs

intheircareas“predominantlybreedX”orasan“X/Y”mix.

Recently,whenscientistsusedDNAanalysistotestthe

accuracyofsuchlabeling,theyfoundthatamongdogs

labeledbyadoptionworkers,onlyonedoginfouractually

hadthenamedbreedconfirmedassignificantly – much

less,predominantly – represented.

Thiswouldnotbeasurprisetoanygeneticistorindeed,

anyonewhohaseverglancedatScottandFuller’s

venerable1960’sstudyofcaninedevelopmentandbreed

characteristics,whichfoundthatbreeding,forexample,a

BasenjitoaCockerSpanieloftenresultedinpuppieswith

littleornoresemblancetoeitherparent.

Andevenreliableidentificationoftheancestryofamixed-

breeddogbyitselfwouldn’thelpuspredictanincreased

likelihoodofknown,geneticallydriventraits – say,the

blood-clottingdisorderthatplaguesDobermansortheheart

defectsofCavaliers.Theparentsofanymixed-breeddog

have,bydefinition,wadedouttheclosedgenepoolthat

makespurebreddogssuchfertilegroundforgenetic

research.Theinevitableinbreedingofpurebred

populations,combinedwiththephenomenoncalledgenetic

drift,graduallydecreasesoverallgeneticdiversity;more

andmoreanimalshavefewerandfewervariabletraits,

includingcharacteristicsthataren’tdeliberatelyselectedfor

oragainst.Butasresearchersfoundwithacolonyof

wolvesinSweden,eveninbreedingsoseverethatitcauses

infertilitycanbereversedbytheintroductionofjustone

outsider.So,ifwecoulddemonstratesuchathingas

“actinglikeaBeagle”or“actinglikeaBasenji,”therewould

belittlereasontoexpecteitheronefromtheoffspringofa

Beagle/Basenjipairing.

ButwhataboutthosepurebredBasnejisandBeaglesand

CattleDogsandAfghansandGoldenRetrievers?Can’twe

expectthemtobehaveconsistentlyinwaysthatresemble

workatwhichtheywereonceselectedtoexcel?

Yes and No.

ThecaseofmyAnnie,thelovely,fawn-coloredGreyhound

camouflagedinapileofpillowsonmycouchasIwritethis,

maybeinstructive.Shecameintorescuedirectlyfromthe

breedingfarm.It’sobviouswhyshenevermadeittothe

racetrack.WhenmyotherGreyhound,Henry,aracer

successfulenoughtostayaliveuntilretirementatfour,

barksandquiversatthelivingroomwindowatthesightofa

squirrelortakesoffinanecstatic(albeitfutile)pursuitofa

jackrabbitatthelocaloff-leashpark,Annielooksupblandly

andthen,withaclear“Whatever ,”goesbacktoher

interruptedsniffingorchewingorresting.

Andyet,everysingleoneofherancestors,goingback

scores,perhapsevenhundreds,ofgenerations,washyper-

motivatedtochase.Theywouldnothavehadthe

opportunitytoreproduceotherwise.

______________________________________________

“Reliably increasing the likelihood of complex

behaviors through selective breeding isn’t easy.”

_______________________________________________

RacingGreyhoundsarebredfortwothingsonly:akeen

inclinationtopursuesmall,fast-movingfurrythingsandthe

physicalabilitytodoitatagreatspeed.Racingindustry

insidersestimatethatonlyabout70to80percentofthe

dogswhoresultfromthisruthlessselectionprocessare

keenenoughtorace.Now,a75percentincidenceofatrait

soundsprettyhigh.You’dcertainlytakethoseoddsin

Vegasattheroulettewheel.Buthis isatraitthat’salready

extremelycommonacrossthespecies;itis,inalllikelihood

themostwidespreadofthepredationbehaviorsofhunting,

stalking,chasing,killing,dissectingandeatingfirst



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observedanddescribedbythefamouswolfethologist,

DavidMech.Mostdogsalreadydothis.

_______________________________________________

So these days, when people look fondly at

the breed they fancy or angrily at the one

they fear and say to me, “They’re not like

other dogs,” I remind my little voice to

recite, “Well, actually, they kind of are.”

_______________________________________

Ifyoutakemorecomplexbehaviorsthatareactually

selectedagainstinthewild,likecompulsivelyfightingother

dogsandfailingtorespondtothedoggybodylanguage

equivalentof“cryinguncle,”forexample,youroddsof

reliablyproducingthebehaviorthroughartificialselection

godowndramatically.Thisexplainshowsomanyoftheso-

called“game-bred”dogsfromfightbusts(liketheones

rescuedfromMichaelVick’sfightingoperation)havegone

ontolivecompanionablywithotherdogsasrelativecouch

potatoesinnormalhomes.

Reliablyincreasingthelikelihoodofcomplexbehaviors

throughselectivebreedingisn’teasy.Andracing

Greyhoundsareoneofonlyahandfulofdogbreedswhere

thisisstillevenattempted.Sincetheadventofmodern

purebredsinthelate19thcenturyandthesubsequent

closingofbreedregistries,selectioncriteriahavefocused

almostexclusivelyonappearance.Qualitiesof

temperamentaresometimesmentioned,althoughnotin

waysthatcanbepracticallyappliedintheshowring,where

– asbiologistRayCoppingerhaspointedout – thebehavior

requiredisstanding,andtoalesserdegree,trotting

alongsideahandler.Mostpurebreddogscomeoutofthis

selectionsystem.

Sothesedays,whenpeoplelookfondlyatthebreedthey

fancyorangrilyattheonetheyfearandsaytome,“They’re

notlike otherdogs,”Iremindmylittlevoicetorecite,“Well,

actually,theykindofare .”

______________________________________________

Janis Bradley, author of Dogs Bite, but Balloons and Slippers are More

Dangerous and Dog Bites: Problems and Solutions was a founding

faculty member and taught for ten years at the San Francisco SPCA

Academy for Dog Trainers, which gained a reputation as the “Harvard

for Dog Trainers,” where more than 400 students were prepared for

careers as dog professionals.

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Breeds and Behavior - Bradley Reprint From Bark NEW[1]