title: Cephalic index and perceived dog trainability.
abstract: People rank breeds of dogs for trainability despite a lack of evidence of breed differences in underlying behaviour. Instead of using behavioural information, people may use dog morphology to determine the trainability of breeds. Dogs are categorized as dolichocephalic, mesocephalic, or brachycephalic based on cephalic index, a ratio between skull width and length. Dolichocephalic breeds are anatomically more specialized for running and brachycephalic breeds are more specialized for fighting. Dog breeds rated as highly trainable are instead mesocephalic, morphological generalists. Looking trainable in dogs may reflect differences in physical morphology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8020, New Zealand. Deak_Helton@yahoo.com
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Helton
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001733:Bites and Stings; D001947:Breeding; D002508:Cephalometry; D004285:Dogs / Q000523:psychology*; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D001841:Human-Animal Bond; D006801:Humans; D010551:Personality; D013045:Species Specificity