Why do dogs surprisingly resemble their owners?

When a dog resembles its owner, is it just a coincidence or something deeper? “While this isn’t a universal phenomenon for all owners and their dogs, it has been observed that they tend to share certain similarities,” noted Katrina Holland, a British dog behavior researcher. According to her, participants in a recent study were able to accurately identify owners and their dogs from photographs by matching specific physical traits of both. Researchers found that when comparing images of people and dogs, participants considered some aspects of appearance more significant than others. For instance, facial features, especially the eyes, played a more crucial role in perceiving similarity than qualities like size and physical fitness.

So, if dogs really do resemble their owners, how can we explain this? Do we choose dogs that look like us, or do our dogs gradually start to resemble us over time? According to Ms. Holland, the first scenario is more likely. She recalled a 2004 study that showed the length of time a person and their dog have lived together does not correlate with their resemblance. Participants were equally successful in identifying “dog-owner” pairs regardless of how long the humans and their furry friends had been together. This suggests that people tend to select dogs that are similar to themselves, as reported by Live Science.

“Perhaps we choose dogs that resemble us due to a simple exposure effect, where we prefer familiar objects, like our own faces that we often see in the mirror,” Katrina Holland speculated. But it’s not just about appearance, the expert pointed out. Dogs and their owners often share personality traits known as the “Big Five.” This model assesses individual differences in personality across five dimensions: extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism (the tendency toward negative emotions). “One hypothesis is that people generally seek out others, including partners, who are similar to them,” explained Katrina Holland. The same applies when people choose their pets.