Humans and dogs became BFFs at least 16000 years ago. But there are some hidden facts about their canine friend that no one understood earlier. A research group claimed that just like humans, the personalities of their pet dogs are likely to change over time.
As per the new study, the personality of the canine friend can also predict many important life outcomes suggesting that dogs' personalities influence how close they feel with their owners, biting behaviour and also chronic illness.
The lead author of this new study, William Chopik Professor from Michigan State University, US said that "When humans go through big changes in life, their personality traits can change. We found that this also happens with dogs and to a surprisingly large degree.
"We expected the dogs' personalities to be fairly stable because they don't have wild lifestyle changes humans do, but they actually change a lot. We uncovered similarities to their owners, the optimal time for training and even a time in their lives that they can get more aggressive toward other animals."
Chopik also added that while it is hard to train an older dog, the process is much easier for a dog aged six or the one who just crossed the puppy stage. Such exposure to obedience classes and training associated with more positive personality traits across the dog's lifespan.
For this study, which was published in the Journal of Research in Personality, the researchers surveyed owners of more than 1600 dogs, including different breeds.
After conducting the survey the researchers found that the owners and their pet dogs share specific personality traits indicating that extroverted humans rated their four-legged friends as more excitable and active, while the owners with negative emotions rated their dogs as more fearful, active and less responsive to training. On the other hand, owners, who rated themselves as agreeable, rated their pets as less fearful and less aggressive to people and animals.
However, here are some facts that most of the dog owners fail to understand:
Having a dog will
- Release stress
- Improve social life
- Help to detect early stage of cancer
- Improve heart health
- Cure depression
- Decrease general illness
- Help children to avoid allergies
