Technically they are called “Brachicefali dogs” but most people know them as “crushed muzzle dogs” or with the name of their race: bulldog, boxer, pug … they are among the most loved and widespread canine breeds, because they are considered friendly to humans, playful and affectionate.
But is there any connection between the shape of their muzzle and their behavior? Yes and no, says a study published in the magazine Animals: If it is true that Brachicefalia seems to have some effect on the behavior of dogs, other factors determine it in a more decisive way. In short: it’s a little more complicated …
With that face a little like this … The amazing success of the Brachicephal dogs has always been a little a mystery, or at least a curiosity: more than other races are brought to suffer from allergies, but also skin problems, eyes and above all respiratory, precisely because of their short muzzle. Which on the other hand is one of the secrets of their popularity, since it gives them a “child” face, with childish traits that make them more … well, cute, even if it is not a technical term.
Moreover, there are studies that argue that brachycephalic dogs tend to establish visual contact with humans more often than other breeds, and that they are better at obeying the controls given to gestures.
The study. The Eötvös Loránd University team of Trnava, in Slovakia, who conducted the research therefore tried to put together the pieces of the puzzle and understand how much the anatomy of certain dogs influence the behavior. The study analyzed more than 5,000 pure breed dogs from a physical point of view, personality and behavioral, trying to understand if the short muzzle has some influence on these factors.
The answer? If you consider only the muzzle, brachycephalic dogs overturn the forecasts: they are more difficult to train, respond less often to the calls and tend to react in an excessive way when a guest enters the house.
In addition to the short muzzle there is more. The study deepened the condition of brachycephalic dogs, trying to trace an average portrait of these animals and their masters. The analysis has shown that, on average, the short muzzle dogs are small, young, not sterilized, badly trained, kept almost exclusively at home and owned by young women who have never had a dog before, live on their own and spend a lot of time with their dog.
All these elements “eclipse” the effects of the shape of the muzzle: those who have already had dogs, for example, are better at training them, and the behavior of the brachycephalics who live with a person at the first canine experience depends on this more than on how crushed their face is.
Genetics has nothing to do with it. Further analyzes have confirmed that the shape of the muzzle has little or nothing with their ability to be trained: on that, the greater influence depends on their size. However, there are some behavioral traits that are more evident in brachycephalic dogs: for example their tendency not to get along with other dogs, or that to jump to people in their arms. But also that not to be excessively reactive: when the short muzzle dogs are it is because they were spoiled and trained badly.
Genetics has nothing to do with it: a well -trained brachycephant will tend to be less inclined to certain behaviors than a long muzzle dog. To conclude, it is complicated, yes, but Brachicefalia really has some direct influence on the behavior of dogs, even if training and correct education count even more.
