dog breeds good with cats

hi, this is kate from minuteearth. ever since rich british folks invented dogshows as a spectator sport in the late 1800s, people have been parading pooches around withthe goal of taking the top spot in their dogs’ so-called “breed group.” these breed groups are based on the historicaljobs dogs were bred to do, with game-retrievers like labs and spaniels in the sporting group,guard dogs like dobermans and mastiffs in the working group, and herding dogs like colliesand sheepdogs in, well, the herding group. and although most dogs today are just butt-sniffinglayabouts, their breed group still influences how we think about them.

which is why dog breed organizations describedogs in the sporting group as attentive, dogs in the herding group as smart, and dogs inthe working group as courageous – but perhaps unsuited for families with young kids. however, two decades of canine research haverevealed that while dogs in a given breed group often share certain skills, they reallydon’t have that much else in common. in one study in sweden, researchers ran morethan 13,000 dogs of 31 different breeds through a course full of sounds, surprises, and randomhumans attempting to snuggle. they found that levels of playfulness, curiosity,sociability, and aggression did not differ among breed groups.

even weirder, it turned out that golden retrieversare more similar to rottweilers than they are to their fellow sporting dogs, and boxersare more like labs than they are like other working dogs. in fact, most dogs act more like breeds outsidetheir group than they act like other breeds within their group. what's more, dozens of canine intelligencestudies have shown that, when it comes to skills like solving mazes and following commands,all breed groups perform about the same, even though some individual dogs are definitelysmarter than others. so have dog enthusiasts somehow been imaginingall of these differences among breed groups?

maybe...psychology research suggests thatonce we begin to see something in a particular way, we naturally seek out evidence that strengthensthat image, and ignore evidence that undermines it. but the truth is that you can’t judge abark by its cover. hey, it’s kate - and this is my adorablerascal, watson. hopefully, you enjoyed watching this video- we had a ton of fun making it. come join us in the comments section, wherewe can chat about breed groups, and confirmation bias, and you can share your dogs with us! also, if you like what we do, please considerjoining our patreon community at patreon.com/minuteearth.

our patrons help us continue making videosabout the weird and wonderful planet we call home - and they get access to some prettycool exclusive perks along the way. if you can’t support us, no worries - justmake sure you subscribe to minuteearth to get access to all our latest videos. thanks, and we’ll see you next time.