Dogs' personalities are not determined by breed - Reading (Advanced)

Hey everyone,

Have you ever heard of the misconception that certain dog breeds have certain personality traits? Well, according to this reading, there is only a little close to nothing chance that that is true.

First off, check out the vocabulary list:

inherit (to receive a characteristic, feature, etc. genetically from a parent) She inherited her brown eyes from her father.

trait (a quality or characteristic that someone or something has) Dishonesty is one of the worst traits a person can have in my opinion.

domesticate (to breed or train a wild animal so it can live with or be used by people) Dogs were domesticated from wolves between 27,000 and 40,000 years ago.

genome (all of the DNA and genes in a living thing) Scientists successfully mapped the entire human genome for the first time in 2022.

howl (to produce a long, loud cry) Charlie howls whenever he hears other dogs barking.

correlation (a relationship, association, or connection between two or more things) The study found a significant correlation between income and life expectancy.

Now let's see the article!

Study: Dogs’ Personalities Not Determined by Their Breed

Research has found what every dog lover already knows: dogs really do have their own personalities.

According to a new study, many of the ideas that people have about the behavior of entire breeds of dogs — like golden retrievers or german shepherds, for example — aren't supported by science.

University of Massachusetts researcher Elinor Karlsson said that there can be a "huge amount" of difference in the behavior of dogs which are of the same breed.

Karlsson said that she wanted to know to what extent behavioral patterns are inherited, and to what extent dog breeds are linked to specific and predictable behaviors.

The answer: while physical traits such as a greyhound’s long legs or a Dalmatian's spots are clearly inherited, breed is not a strong predictor of any individual dog’s personality.

The researchers surveyed more than 18,000 dog owners and analyzed the genomes of about 2,150 of their dogs.

They found that some behaviors — such as howling, pointing and showing friendliness to humans — do have some genetic basis. But that inheritance isn’t strictly passed down along breed lines.

Some breeds, such as huskies and beagles, may be more likely to howl. But many of these dogs don't, as both the owner survey and genetic data showed.

The researchers could also find no genetic basis for aggressive behaviors, or any evidence to show that specific breeds are more aggressive than others.

“The correlation between dog behavior and dog breed is much lower than most expected,” said Jeff Kidd from the University of Michigan.

Dogs were domesticated thousands of years ago, but the idea of dog breeds is much more recent. Around 160 years ago, people began to breed specific dogs so that their puppies would have certain physical features, like a particular color or ear shape.

QUESTIONS

1. How many grammar tenses can you spot?

2. Sum up the content of the article with only present tense, and write it down!

3. What was the outcome of the research?

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Paul