I have just started reading a book titled: Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals by Hal Herzog. He is a professor of psychology and one of the leading experts on anthrozoology, the study of human-animal relations.

He touches on many human-animal relations topics in his book, but I wanted to share one fun topic with you today: do people look like their dogs? According to the research discussed in this book, studies in various countries were conducted to see if people could match up photos of owners and their dogs. Seems that they can do so at better than chance levels. Certainly not everyone looks like their pets, but the research supports the idea that a lot of people actually do look enough like their dogs that people can match them up.

It seems that many people choose dogs that look somewhat like themselves, just as other research indicates that we tend to choose mates that are about as attractive as we are. Guess we are attracted to anyone that looks somewhat like us – sounds a bit vain, doesn't it? Or maybe, we know they are the only ones who will hang out with us.

I guess people and dogs could look like each other in a variety of ways. Redheads might prefer red-haired dogs. Men with facial hair might like dogs with “beards”. Women who are tall and thin might like tall and thin dogs.

Above is a photo of me, my husband Ed, our Greyhound Jahzara and our Vizsla Romeo. Do you think our dogs look like us?

Let's see, I am relatively tall and thin. (So is my husband, Ed.) We live with a Greyhound. Hmm, she's tall and thin. We also live with a Vizsla. He's not tall, but certainly has a similar sleek muscular build to a Greyhound. Ok, maybe there is something to that. (That's not to imply that I am muscular in any way, but I am thin.)

I think people also tend to choose dogs (at least, if they are making wise choices!) that fit their lifestyle and energy level. My dogs love to get out for walks and hikes, love to be in the outdoors, but are also both great snugglers when we're hanging out at home. Ed and I also love being able to get out and enjoy the outdoors and get lots of exercise, but also to be lazy and snuggle in the evenings. So, did we choose dogs that look like us, or did we choose dogs that fit our lifestyle who by virtue of that choice, tend to look more like us?

I'd love to hear whether or not you think you look like your dog(s) and why? Why did you choose the breed(s) you have? [/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

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