Owning a dog may be in your genesMay 29, 2019If you consider yourself a dog person, turns out this particular preference may come down to your DNA. A study on the heritability of dog ownership has found a person's genetic makeup strongly impacts whether they choose to get a dog. This is according to a team of Swedish and British scientists who used information from 35,035 twin pairs from the Swedish Twin Registry as the basis of their study. Researchers compared the genetic makeup of twins with dog ownership. "We were surprised to see a person's genetic makeup appears to be a significant influence in whether they own a dog," says the study's lead author, Tove Fall, professor in molecular epidemiology at the department of medical sciences and the science for life laboratory, Uppsala University. "As such, these findings have major implications in several different fields related to understanding dog-human interaction throughout history and in modern times. Although dogs and other pets are common household members across the globe, little is known how they impact our daily life and health. Perhaps some people have a higher innate propensity to care for a pet than others." Using twins is a known method to separate the influences of environment and …
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WSAVA pushes responsible dog breeding through education about inherited diseasesMay 30, 2017Dr. Cathryn Mellersh, BVSc, Ph.D., head of canine genetics, Animal Health Trust, an English nonprofit looking for cures for companion animal diseases, and a member of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Hereditary Disease Committee (HDC), is urging veterinarians to educate dog breeders and dog owners about the perils of hereditary diseases.
