Your dog’s personality may have little to do with its breed

 

你家狗狗的個性可能和品種沒什麼關聯

【摘要2022.8.18.四.自由】◎孫宇青

A new study published in the journal Science confirms what dog lovers know - every pup is truly an individual.

一份刊登於《科學》期刊的新研究，證實了愛狗人士都知道的一件事：每隻狗狗確實都是獨立個體。

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

研究人員訪查逾1萬8000名狗主人，並分析他們所養的2150隻狗狗的基因組，找尋其中是否有規律。

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

他們發現，吼叫、鎖定陌生人並示好之類的行為，的確至少有某種基因依據，但並未完全在各品種間遺傳下來。

For example, they found golden retrievers that don’t retrieve, said co-author Kathryn Lord. Some breeds, such as huskies and beagles, may show a greater tendency to howl. But many of these dogs don’t.（AP）

例如，研究共同作者凱瑟琳．羅德說，他們發現有不會狩獵的黃金獵犬。像是哈士奇和米格魯之類的品種，可能具有吼叫的癖性，但其中也有許多不會吼叫的。（美聯社）

新聞辭典

pup：名詞，小狗、幼犬。例句：We found three little pups under our car.（我們在車底下發現三隻幼犬。）

howl：動詞，吼叫。例句：The dog let out a howl while seeing a stranger.（這隻狗看到陌生人時吠了一聲。）

pass down：慣用片語，傳承。例句：It is a pity if such graceful tradition cannot be passed down.（這麼優美的傳統若不能傳承，是一件憾事。）