How similar are dogs and owners?

Anotherreasoncouldbethatactivitieswiththeowneraffectthedog’spersonality –especiallyiftheyhavelivedtogethersincethepetwasapuppy.Thus,thedogof aratherextrovertownerislikelytogetinvolvedinsocialeventsandthuswillingly socializewithstrangersandotherslikehim.However,theinverseconnectioncould alsobevalid:thepersonalityofthedoginfluencesitsowner.Itisthereforeconceivablethatanactiveandenergeticdogstimulatesitsownertoperformmoreactivities.Suchselectioncouldoccurbothattheindividuallevelandinthetypeofbreed.

It is often claimed that the dog and its owner look similar. And indeed studies show that many people choose a dog that looks like them outwardly. Christina Pay- ne and Klaus Jaffe photographed 48 breeds of dogs and their owners. The photos were then mixed and presented in an experiment to people who then had to put together the correct pairs of dog and owner. In fact, these people subjected to the experiment were able, not by chance, to often find the correct dog-ma- ster pairs. The results of this Venezuelan study were subsequently confirmed by other studies in the USA and Japan. This outward resemblance was only de- tected with photos of purebred dogs. However, if photos of mixed-race dogs and their owners are shown to people undergoing the experiment, the right associa- tion almost never happens. Similar mechanisms also occur in the search for the human social partner. In this we focus not only on physical attraction, but also on psychological characteristics. Personality similarity also seems to play a role: it leads to gre- ater satisfaction in the relationship (Karney & Bradbury, 1995). Since dogs are often considered close companions, friends or family, the same cultural and psychological factors may influence the choi- ce of these four-legged animals. Probably many people choose a specific dog or breed, because they find diffe- rent behavioral aspects and/or similarities to themselves particularly interesting. In this every person has his or her individual preferences. There are many reasons for the influence of the owner’s personality on the dog’s personality. On the one hand, because of the close social relationship there could be a distortion of the perception of the owner. This means that the owner assigns similar behavioural characteristics to the four-legged animal without the animal actually demonstrating such characteristics. However, this belief is unlikely, since the assessments of self and external estimates are similar in the personality questionnaires used (Turcsán et al. 2012). Indeed, several studies find correspondences in the personality structures between man and dog. For example, emotionally unstable owners judge their dogs as nervous and insecure, while extroverted people describe their four-leg- ged pet as energetic, enthusiastic and very socially open (Turcsán et al., 2012). Sociable people judge their dog less aggressive, while people with a greater sense of responsibility think their four-legged companion is better trained (Chopik et al. 2019). Owners of dogs suffering from anxiety problems (e.g. anxiety attacks or detachment anxiety) often descri - be themselves as less self-confident (Dodman 2003) and owners of aggres - sive four-legged animals tend to justify them by saying they are themsel - ves very tense (Podberscek & Serpell 1997). In addition, people with mini- mum values in the “tolerance” personality category prefer breeds conside- red aggressive (Egan & MacKenzie 2012). A similar association is also found in another study: owners of dog breeds that often cause injuries (this survey includes akitas, dobermanns, rottweilers, chow-chows, pit bulls, and wolf half-breeds), are more likely to exhibit antisocial behaviour and are more likely to be at risk than people from other comparable groups (Ragatz et al. 2009).

reflectthepersonalityoftheowner.

interesting.Infact,differentpeoplenaturallyfinddifferentcharactertraits Forexample,ownerslookingforaclosesocialcom - apanioninadogthenchooseafour-leggedanimalthatshows lotofaffection.Whereasaratherindependentpersonislo - sportyokingforafairlyindependentfour-leggedcompanion.Avery personwillpreferadogthatsuitshisdailylife,while breedaquietpersonprobablyaquietdog.Therefore,thechoiceof and/orindividualdogmayconsciouslyor unconsciously

Free University of Bolzano - Bozen Faculty of Design and Art

Bachelor in Design and art - Major in Design

WUP 22/23 | 1st semester

Foundation course

Project Module

Editorial Design

Designed by Elena Pandini

Magazine | Walking yourself

Supervision

Project leader:

Prof. Antonino Benincasa

Project assistants:

Amedeo Bonini

Rocco Modugno

Photography

Unsplash: Aiony Haust, Albert Dera, Alexander Krivitskiy, Austin Wade, Baptist Standaert, Christian Buehner, Christopher Campbell, Dilara Irem, Filipp Romanovski, Gabriella Clare Marino, Hayes Potter, Imansyah, Muhamad Putera, Jack Finnigan, Jake Nackos, Jimmy Fermin, John Cameron, Joseph Gonzales, Julian Wan, Jurica Koletic, Kieran White, Linkedin sales solutions, Ludovic Migneault, Mark Farias, Oscar Sutton, Peri Stojnic, Rachel Mcdermott, Robert Godwin, Salvatore Ventura, Sam, Spencer Quast, Stefan Stefancik, Stephanie Cantu, Stephanie Liverani, Taylor Kopel

Pexels: Angela Roma, Dsd, Ketut Subiyanto, Lukas, Pedro Figueras

Paper

Coated 150gr

Fonts

Klavika

Lack by Adrien Midzic

Printed Bolzano, Bozen

February 2023

Inside pages - Digital print | Canon