The German shepherd was originally bred to do exactly what their name implies, but a lot has changed since Max von Stephanitz introduced the breed in 1899. Today, the German shepherd is one of the world’s most recognizable and popular dogs, largely due to their intelligence, trainability, and companionship. You’re just as likely to spot one of them at an airport sniffing for contraband as you are at a kennel club competition.
But a good “work” German shepherd and a good show dog require two very different sets of traits. According to researchers at Sweden’s Uppsala University, these specific qualities are so pronounced that they’re even visible at the genetic level. What’s more, many of these genes can also be seen in humans.
“It’s interesting that we can now see that this selective breeding has indeed led to differences between working dogs and show dogs among German shepherds—differences that can be seen at both the behavioral and genetic levels,” Uppsala University genomics researcher Kerstin Lindblad-Toh explained in a recent profile.
Lindblad-Toh and her colleagues laid out their findings in a study recently published in the journal Animal Genetics. To assess the iconic breed, the team reviewed a massive dataset of 23,000 German shepherds who previously participated in a standardized behavioral test known as the Dog Mentality Assessment (DMA). During the DMA, canines are exposed to a range of situations, such as meeting strangers, play time, and even encountering imposing, ghostly figures. The team discovered that while German shepherds often scored higher for traits like neuroticism and shyness, the breed’s working dogs generally exhibited more curiosity, less fear, and a willingness to socialize with people.
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