The breed of dogs does not determine their behavior, which is mainly due to genetic and environmental factors, according to a new study published this Friday in the journalism. Science.

The research, led by researcher Kathleen Morrill of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, compared data on behavior from a survey of 18,000 dog owners with genetic studies of more than 2,000 different breeds of dogs.

“Most behavioral traits can be inherited, but behavioral traits differ only slightly between breeds. Breeds offer little predictive value in individuals, as they only explain 9% of the variation,” explains the research results.

As an example, the authors cite the popular belief that Labrador retrievers tend to be more social (a quick Wikipedia search reveals the words “relationship”, “softness” or “kindness”) as an example of a relationship that doesn’t occur in real life.

However, edge collies seem to be more likely to recognize and accept human commands than other dogs.

This isn’t the only study on dogs the magazine has published. Science.

According to research led by researcher Rebecca Mancy of the University of Glasgow, the high activity of some dogs is preventing the disappearance of rabies despite its low prevalence among communities.

Usually transmitted by the bites of infected dogs, the disease causes tens of thousands of deaths each year, mostly among children in low-income countries in Africa and Asia.

Despite vaccination campaigns and the culling of affected populations, the virus continues to be transmitted.

According to the researchers, the key lies in the dogs’ own individual behavior, which is very unpredictable.

Some act as “super-spreaders” by traveling long distances and introducing the virus into previously unexposed communities.

Other infected dogs bite more than uninfected and spread the virus widely before dying.

University of Colorado researcher Michael Antolin warns that this discovery, beyond the generalization of vaccines, may offer clues as to how covid-19 will continue to pose a risk should it finally become an endemic disease.

“While endemic is a more desirable outcome than a pandemic, it is a new challenge, not the end of a disease,” explains Antolin in a related text published in the same issue of the journal.