Dogs were domesticated from wolves about 15,000 years ago, and an important selection pressure (intentional orunintentional) has been their ability to communicate and cooperate with people. They show extensive human-directedsociability, which varies within as well as between breeds and is not shared by ancestral wolves. Hence, dogs arepotentially ideal models for studying the genetics of social behavior. Here, we review some recent research carried outby us and others on this subject. We present results showing that recent selection of different breed types can be usedas a model system for investigating the genetic architecture of personalities. Furthermore, we review data showingthat human-directed social behavior is significantly related to a small number of genes that have known connectionsto human social disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. We suggest that dogs are excellent study subjects foranalyzing the evolution and genetics of social behavior and can serve as probes for human health and welfare.
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