Disturbing new study regarding purebred dogs [View all]

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Last edited Mon Apr 1, 2013, 11:52 AM - Edit history (1)

I really don't know how to make heads or tails about this.

But if it's true (and the science behind it leads me to believe it is) it explains a lot, at least given my past experience with both purebreds and mixed breeds.

Needless to say, next time I look into getting a dog, it will not be a purebred.

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http://www.thestar.com/life/2013/04/01/purebred_dogs_lack_the_soul_of_mixed_breed_counterparts.html

Study: Purebred dogs lack the “soul” of mixed breed counterparts

University of Waterloo research indicates purebreds severely lacking critical emotional intelligence skills, cites genetic malformations

By: James Iha, News reporter, Published on Mon Apr 1 2013

A controversial new study recently published in The Canadian Veterinary Journal indicates that dogs that are specifically bred to owners for the purposes of representing a particular breed are staggeringly deficient in their ability to emote, express enjoyment in their lives, or otherwise relate to the needs and feelings of their owners or fellow dogs.

The study, conducted by University of Waterloo Assistant Professor of Veterinary Sociology Dr. Danny Myshrall, enlisted the help of 100 owners of recently deceased canines. Half of the participants owned mixed breed dogs of indeterminate type (colloquially known as “mutts”), while the other half were owners of traditional “purebred” dogs. “Amongst the purebreds, we made sure the sample represented a wide swath along the spectrum of breeds,” Myshrall explained. “This included both your traditional dog breeds: Labradors, Poodles, Schipperkes, Komondoors, Redbone Coonhounds, Bouvier des Flandres, and so on. We also included the more recent trend of so-called ‘designer’ breeds: Labrodoodles, Puggles, Bernedoodles, Schnooldles, Yorkie-Poos and Shih-Poos.”

Owners were first asked to give researchers a psychological profile of their pet: how affectionate he or she was towards the owner, what activities (if any) stimulated the dog’s attention, acts of aggression and/or dissatisfaction, eating habits, and other key personality traits of the animal. Then—with the owner’s permission—the scientists physically examined the brains of the late dogs. The results, Myshrall said, were astounding.

“The purebred dog was ten times more likely than a mutt to exhibit signs of chronic ennui, lackadaisical behavior, and an overall expression of a general lack of any sense of greater purpose or meaning in its life,” Myshrall said. “Upon our actual dissection of the dog’s brain itself, we found almost universally that the limbic system (the part of the brain responsible for emotional response and learning) was nearly half the size in purebred dogs when compared to their mixed breed counterparts.”

“In layman’s terms, one could honestly say that purebred dogs simply do not have the same ‘soul’ as one might find in a mixed breed,” Myshrall continued.