When a dog looks strikingly like its owner, is that a coincidence or is there more to the story?
Part of enjoying the Summer months is time spent with your favorite canine friend/family. It is also when we see other ‘dog people’ enjoying the outdoors as well. While visiting any dog park, we are bound to see matching pairs of dogs and humans. But do dogs really tend to look like their owners? And, if so, what’s responsible for this resemblance?
There is some evidence that purebred dogs and owners tend to resemble each other at some level. Several studies have found that people can successfully match pictures of purebred dogs with pictures of their owners at levels above random chance. In one study, participants were able to match dogs with their owners regardless of whether they were told to choose the real dog-owner pairs or just choose pairs that looked alike. This finding suggests that it’s physical appearance, and not some other element, that people are using to make these judgments.
Our own DoggieUK9 Blog has described this phenomenon in two of our “Week’s Review of Social Media” posts from March 2022 and also in August 2022. There are some great “look alike” photos – check them out! ** Dog Owners Show their Best ‘Dog Face’ ** and **The Resemblance Is Uncanny **
Not just appearance!
Findings from a recent study indicate that dogs and their owners resemble each other in a number of personality dimensions, such as, extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness and neuroticism. These findings also support the idea that we select pets that are similar to us — not just those that look like us, but those that act like us, too.
The important take away for those considering adopting a pet is to take your time to fully consider all aspects of dog ownership and being prepared will help set you up for a lifelong, successful relationship with your new dog, But after those considerations, there’s nothing wrong with picking out a cute canine twin to hit the dog park with.