Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 11:31 am Post subject: Pedigree Dogs Under Fire Again
From this weeks Shooting Times; Scientists in Sweden have found evidence that the breedingof pedigree dogs for appearance has led to a dramatic decline in the animals' intelligence. Apparently the worst-affected working breeds aresmooth collies and Rhodesian ridgebacks.
Of all my 5 dogs the most intelligent as in problem solver is definitely the deerhound, he can be seen to think out a puzzle and get there without the "bull in a china shop" attitude the gundogs use . So what is the definition of intelligence in this context? _________________ Sue, Chase and the non-Brittany boys - Brice & Piper. Pets first and foremost.
Unfortunately, this quite interesting study has been misreported in a number of places, including timesonline. The original scientific paper can be read here:
http://www.svartbergs.se/pdf/BreedPersonality.pdf
The original paper does not refer to "intelligence" at all and makes some important caveats regarding interpretation and generalizability. The tests are more of temperament with differences within and between breeds noted and some correlation with higher scores for dogs from working stock. The traits measured were: "playfulness"; "curiosity/ fearlessness"; "sociability"; "aggressiveness". Dogs scores on these traits were negatively associated with "show" rather than "working" lines. In light of recent dog attacks, perhaps we should rejoice in the lower aggressiveness scores of show dogs!
The authors acknowledge that in the show ring dogs need to be non-aggressive with other dogs, stand passively while being examined and inspected, and not be distracted too easily. Although the authors claim a genetic basis and selection pressure, given that the dogs were 12-24 months old, it is possible that there were differences in training. (I know that it takes a great deal of time to train puppies to overcome their desire to play in the show-ring!) Another factor acknowledged in the paper is that the sourcing of the dogs through the Swedish Working Dog Association may have introduced an unintended selection bias into the study.
So the paper was not referring to pedigree versus cross-breed and was not measuring intelligence. But, I suppose, our trusted reporters don't want to spoil a good story by sticking to the facts.
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