Do Dogs Really Look Like Their Owners?

I’m the first to admit that my friends look like their dogs. But is it just a funny coincidence, or is there any real science behind it? After the last time my friend Rebecca bounded up to me the same way her golden retriever does, I decided to fetch some facts for myself.

               

Photo source:  Crazy Redhead
Photo source:  NZKaratekid

I’ve got my dog to substitute my mirror—oh the vanity!
Researchers and psychologists at University of California, San Diego looked at forty-five random dog owners and tried to match them with their pets. Nearly two out of three times, the judges matched the owners correctly.

                              
Photo source: Brickfish
Photo source:  Life in the Fast Lane

Hate me hate my dog; love me, love my dog.
I can’t help but think that it’s not so much that dogs and their owners look exactly the same, but that the stereotypes of certain dog breeds can be matched with the stereotypes made about the dog-owner. Starlet wannabes and their annoying Chihuahuas, beef-cake guys and their pit bulls, or blue-haired grannies and their poodles. You get the idea.

Photo source: Life in the Fast Lane