A team of Swedish and British scientists analyzed data from 35,035 twins to explore the heritability of dog ownership. Their findings reveal that genetic factors account for more than half of the variation in whether someone owns a dog, underscoring a profound genetic basis for pet adoption.
Dogs, humanity's first domesticated companions for at least 15,000 years, remain beloved pets today, often boosting owners' health and well-being. Drawing on the world's largest twin registry—the Swedish Twin Registry—researchers compared genetic profiles of identical and fraternal twins to assess hereditary influences on dog ownership.
“We were surprised to find that genetics significantly shape dog ownership,” notes the study's lead author. “This has broad implications for understanding dog-human bonds across history and today. While pets are household staples worldwide, their impact on daily life and health remains underexplored—perhaps some individuals are innately predisposed to nurture them.”
“These results also suggest that reported health benefits of dog ownership in prior studies may partly stem from the genetic differences among participants.”
Twin studies are a gold-standard method for separating genetic from environmental influences. Identical twins share 100% of their DNA, while fraternal twins share about 50%. The markedly higher concordance rates for dog ownership among identical twins confirm genetics' substantial role.
