Want a top dog? Good plus better doesn't make best, study suggests
Research on the mainland into a gene linked to obsessive-compulsive behaviour could change the way we think about breeding animals
Dog breeders who want hardworking canines should take a second look at the lazy ones that refuse to get off the couch - they might hold the key for highly motivated puppies, according to mainland researchers.
A recent study found breeding 'the worst to the worst' - the hyperactive with the least active - provided the best chance of producing motivated offspring.
The researchers, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Kunming Institute of Zoology, studied the genetics behind behaviour in the Belgian Malinois, a European shepherd dog widely used by police and military tasks to detect explosives and narcotics. The US Secret Service even uses the breed to guard the White House, according to The New York Times.
The Kunming team tested the function of the CDH2 gene, which previous research has linked to obsessive-compulsive behaviour in people, and the disposition to work in Malinois.
With a moderate expression of the gene, a dog displays excellent performance with a strong initiative for work. If the genetic expression is too strong, the animal suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, circling its cage and incapable of work. If the expression is too low, the dog is inactive with little interest in work.
Dr Wang Guodong, CAS biologist and a lead scientist of the study, said they found the gene would pass down from one generation to the next following a rule called "balancing selection".
"That means breeding two good-performing dogs would produce a 25 per cent chance of an off-spring with a double dose of the gene, and a 25 per cent chance with an inadequate expression, neither of which is good for work," Wang said.