The German shepherd was originally bred to do exactly what their name implies, but a lot has changed since Max von Stephanitz introduced the breed in 1899. Today, the German shepherd is one of the world’s most recognizable and popular dogs, largely due to their intelligence, trainability, and companionship. You’re just as likely to spot one of them at an airport sniffing for contraband as you are at a kennel club competition.
But a good “work” German shepherd and a good show dog require two very different sets of traits. According to researchers at Sweden’s Uppsala University, these specific qualities are so pronounced that they’re even visible at the genetic level. What’s more, many of these genes can also be seen in humans.
“It’s interesting that we can now see that this selective breeding has indeed led to differences between working dogs and show dogs among German shepherds—differences that can be seen at both the behavioral and genetic levels,” Uppsala University genomics researcher Kerstin Lindblad-Toh explained in a recent profile.
Lindblad-Toh and her colleagues laid out their findings in a study recently published in the journal Animal Genetics. To assess the iconic breed, the team reviewed a massive dataset of 23,000 German shepherds who previously participated in a standardized behavioral test known as the Dog Mentality Assessment (DMA). During the DMA, canines are exposed to a range of situations, such as meeting strangers, play time, and even encountering imposing, ghostly figures. The team discovered that while German shepherds often scored higher for traits like neuroticism and shyness, the breed’s working dogs generally exhibited more curiosity, less fear, and a willingness to socialize with people.
“Breeders of working dogs have selected and bred the ones that really enjoy working; it’s a bit like a game for them,” said Lindblad-Toh.
From there, the researchers gathered blood samples and mapped the genomes of 373 German shepherds who previously took the DMA. Some of these behavioral divergences were so stark that the study’s authors could pinpoint them in the dogs’ genetics.
“We could then see that there were areas in the genome where differences could be seen in the dogs depending on how curious or playful they were, for example,” Lindblad-Toh said. “That meant that we were able to identify some of the genes in working dogs that are linked to curiosity and playfulness.”
In some instances, the same genes influencing German shepherd personalities are also tied to the same behaviors in humans. This means it may be possible to further explore human psychology with the aid of our best animal friends. Although Lindblad-Toh cautioned that their study is “just a first step” along this path, they hope to learn more about specific breed genetic traits and their overlap with owners.
“We now have an example of how we might also acquire more knowledge about different behaviors in people with [the] help of dogs in the longterm,” she said.
