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Canine Genome Infographic

This infographic explains how genetics influence dogs’ looks and behaviors.

All dogs are individuals

You can find a slide by slide version of this infographic below

We know what the canine genome looks like. There is substantial scientific evidence and peer-reviewed research showing that looks and breed do not equal behavior. In a non-purebred dog, appearance cannot even reliably reveal breed ancestry.

Dogs are complex animals influenced by many factors. These include genetics and environment. These are so inextricably interwoven that even the dichotomy “nature versus nurture” has become  outdated. To a modern geneticist, the phrase is nonsense.

The only way to learn about a dog’s personality is to look at their actual, observable behavior.

Neither Physical appearance nor genetic makeup can accurately predict an individual dog's behavior.

Download the infographic in English, French, or Spanish.

Citations

The Dog and Its Genome by Elaine Ostrander

Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog by Scott and Fuller

The Relevance of Breed in Selecting a Companion Dog by Janis Bradley

What Dogs Tell Us, the ABCs of DNA, National Geographic

Dr. Kristopher J. Irizarry, PhD

Dr. Victoria Voith PhD, DVM, DACVB

Brachycephalic traits

Morphological traits

Brain development genes

Cranial facial development and here

Canine skull development

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. If you would like to make changes or translations of this work, please contact us for permission.

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