What makes dogs so friendly? Study finds genetic link to super-outgoing people – This article posted on Science on July 19th discusses research that “…found variations in several genes that make dogs more affable than wolves and some dogs friendlier than others.”
“The study is exciting because it provides such strong support for the ‘survival of the friendliest’” hypothesis of dog domestication, says Brian Hare, an evolutionary anthropologist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, who was not involved in the work. In ancient wolves with these gene disruptions “fear was replaced by friendliness and a new social partner [was] created.”
This study reinforces the behavioral differences between wolves and dogs.