Study of pet dogs shows breed does not predict behaviour
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Re: Study of pet dogs shows breed does not predict behaviour
#2Any problems with the study? Control group is "random distribution of dogs" and the other group is "18,000 but of a no specific breed". Is that a problem or does it even out.
Re: Study of pet dogs shows breed does not predict behaviour
#3Any problems with the study? Control group is "random distribution of dogs" and the other group is "18,000 but of a no specific breed". Is that a problem or does it even out.
Importantly... the behavior is self-reported (by dog owners), who almost certainly have some bias about their dogs. I know I do. :)
Re: Study of pet dogs shows breed does not predict behaviour
#4Isn't this study flawed because they asked people to report on their dog's behavior? When I talk to other dog owners, they discuss the dog with respect to their perceived breed standard, "Oh, Kelly is much more calm than I expected from a Rotty" or "Joy is pretty dumb for a Collie." If they somehow got neutral observers that would be much more persuasive, in my mind.
Re: Study of pet dogs shows breed does not predict behaviour
#5Any problems with the study? Control group is "random distribution of dogs" and the other group is "18,000 but of a no specific breed". Is that a problem or does it even out.
Importantly... the behavior is self-reported (by dog owners), who almost certainly have some bias about their dogs. I know I do. :)
Also what would count as "no issues" by and large depends on the dog breed I'd say. If a rottweiler tried to attack a rabbit that wouldn't be out of the ordinary, but if a border collie did the same it would.
Re: Study of pet dogs shows breed does not predict behaviour
#6Stats that reveal breeds like pitbulls causing the majority of attacks seem to contradict this, no?
Re: Study of pet dogs shows breed does not predict behaviour
#7From the source:
"The team found that some traits were more common in certain breeds. For example, compared with a random dog, German shepherds were more easily directed; beagles, not so much. And the authors’ genetic studies revealed that mixed-breed dogs with a particular ancestry were more likely to act in specific ways. Mutts with St Bernard ancestry, for instance, were more affectionate, whereas mutts descended from Chesapeake Bay retrievers had a penchant for wrecking doors."
They then go on to say that the variation is only around 9%, but it does seem to suggest the opposite than what the title claims. If you can estimate behavior of a stray based on assumed breed and be right more than wrong, it would seem that while breed does not predict entirely, it does correlate. It would be nice to see what the actual study was instead of a blurb.
Re: Study of pet dogs shows breed does not predict behaviour
#8Stats that reveal breeds like pitbulls causing the majority of attacks seem to contradict this, no?
It would contradict the headline as written, but headline is not actually an accurate statement of the article itself.
This headline, to a superficial reading, says "breed has NO predictive power with regards to behavior". What the study found was that breed is a weak predictor of behavior, not that it has no impact at all.
Re: Study of pet dogs shows breed does not predict behaviour
#9Stats that reveal breeds like pitbulls causing the majority of attacks seem to contradict this, no?
It does. Once your pitbull mauls the neighbor kids you're not going to send it's DNA into their website. There's a huge sampling problem here.
Re: Study of pet dogs shows breed does not predict behaviour
#10Stats that reveal breeds like pitbulls causing the majority of attacks seem to contradict this, no?
not finding something is a lot different than finding something