Why is my dog like this? Current DNA tests won’t explain it to you.

According to a recent study, popular genetics tests may not tell you much about your dog’s personality.

A team of geneticists recently found no association between simple genetic variants and behavioral traits in more than 3,200 dogs, although previous studies have shown that hundreds of genes can predict aspects of dog behavior and personality. This is despite the popularity of home genetic tests that claim they can tell you if your dog has genes for anxiety or a fondness for cuddles.

Gattaca For dogs, except it doesn’t work

Genomicist Katherine Lord of the University of Massachusetts and her colleagues compared the DNA sequences and behavioral surveys of more than 3,000 dogs whose humans had enrolled them (and filled out surveys) in the Darwin’s Ark project. “Genetic tests for behavior and personality traits in dogs are now being marketed to pet owners, but their predictive accuracy has not been validated,” Lord and colleagues write in their recent paper.

So the team examined relatively straightforward relationships between genetic variants and personality traits such as aggression, drive and affection. The 151 genetic variants under consideration involved small changes to a single nucleotide, or “letter”, in a gene, known as single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

It turns out the answer was no: Your dog’s genes don’t predict his behavior, at least not in the simple way that popular dog DNA tests often claim.

And this can have serious consequences when pet owners, shelter workers, or animal rescuers use these tests to make decisions about a dog’s future. “For example, if a dog is known to be genetically susceptible to aggression, the owner may limit the social interaction needed, or the shelter may decide against adoption,” Lord and colleagues wrote.