The charge of 101the old Disney cardboard, opened with a memorable scene that showed how the dog always resembled his human, both from a physical and character point of view. And in fact the idea that there is a link between the appearance and personality of a dog and that of the human that accompanies him is widespread – but does it have any scientific basis? You will not surprise you to know that there are several studies on the subject: this is how Renata Rome explains them, an expert in behavior of the University of Saskatchewan.
Physical similarities … As mentioned, the amount of material produced on the issue “Does the dog look like his human?“It is surprisingly (or maybe not) high. If you want to make you a general idea, the advice is to start from this study last February published on Elsevier. Is one review which summarizes 15 studies on the subject, which all point in the same direction: there are evident similarities between dog and master, both external and character.
The first are the most curious, and depend more than anything else on our tastes. For example: Women with short hairsays this study, they tend to prefer dogs the ears equally shortwhile for those with long hair the opposite is worth. Many people tend to choose dogs who have some degree of external similarity with them: several studies suggest that this is worth above all for pure breed dogs, which have a more “predictable” appearance.
… and character. The breed also determines the character similarities between dog and human: this study, for example, explains that we tend to choose a dog based on the characteristics that we associate with its breed (courage, extroversion, energy, affection, ease of training …), but this obviously applies only for pure races – the mestizos are more unpredictable. According to Rome, there is an evolutionary motivation behind our choice: it is the same reason why we choose friends similar to us, because a cohesive (and predictable) group has more possibilities for survival.
Having said that there is some degree of similarity between dog and master, both on aesthetic and behavioral level, it is something that not only known the human or which is also evident to strangers? Always in the study of Psychological Science Quoted above we read an experiment that has put a series of strangers in the face of photos of dogs and their masters, asking to pair according to the similarities. Well, The dogs were correctly associated in 100% of cases… but only those of pure breed: the mestizos, again, have created confusion. As stated in the study itself, “The results suggest that when a person chooses a dog, he looks for one who resembles him in some way. And that when they choose one of pure race they are sure to get what they want”.
Do you want one last advice not required by us? Do not neglect the mestizos just because they are not exactly as you want them!
