It’s genetic: Some people really are dog people

A new study in Nature’s Scientific Reports teases out data from the Swedish Twin Registry to untangle the ties between people and dogs — and how they evolved. Growing up with pets turns out to be less important over a lifetime than your genetic makeup. Having a dog in childhood contributed only 10% to the likelihood of owning one past early adulthood, but being an identical twin played a much bigger role: 57% for women and 51% for men. The researchers muse over whether certain genes helped humans domesticate dogs 15,000 years ago and wonder whether genetics should be considered today when studying the health positives of dog ownership. About those Swedish dogs’ heredity: the most common breed was “mixed breed,” followed by golden retriever and German shepherd.