Look Like A Dog?

Do you look like your dog? How many times have you been introduced to someone’s pet and they look just like the owner? Or is it the owner that starts to look like their pet? Research shows that dogs in particular, due to their intelligence, often start to pick up their owners’ characteristics.  It is believed that when you are choosing a dog there is no correlation between the owner’s personality and the breed.  Although sources suggest that  there are some behaviour related choices such as choosing a dog that needs a lot of exercise if you are into fitness, or choosing a smaller dog that doesn’t need much exercise if you prefer spending time on the couch! Another complication is choosing a mongrel dog as your pet. You know what a pure bred dog will look like when it grows up; a mongrel is more of a stab in the dark.

Studies find that people can guess quite well what kind of breed someone will go for once they’ve seen what the person looks like. The simple psychological explanation is familiarity. Why do we love old school songs? Get home sick? Love our Mums cooking?  However we do tend to stereotype dog breeds to owners, such as the bulldog with an overweight meat head, and a poodle with a prissy drama queen. Thankfully though there is no correlation in hair; a hairy dog doesn’t mean a hairy owner. Hopefully that also goes for breath.

Being attracted to those who look similar to you is by no means limited to dogs. People are often attracted to partners who look like themselves. Not only this, but old couples who have lived together for years start looking increasingly similar! This is manly due to their influence on the others diet, lifestyle, predisposition, empathy and environment. That can’t be a pleasant thought for everyone reading this, but maybe gives more hope to internet dating websites. However if you reckon I’m barking up the wrong tree, or are living in denial have a look at Paris Hilton and her small side-kick - who needs Nicole Ritchie!

Read on…

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