Why dogs tend to look like their humans, according to science

A dog is man’s best friend, yes, but what about man’s best…twin? Well, it’s not out of the question, as it turns out. A study published earlier this year collected various data that tells us dogs do indeed look like their owners.

The study, “Like owner, like dog–A systematic review about similarities in dog-human dyads,” was published by scholars Yana Bender, Franziska Roth, Stefan Schweinberger, Simone Witte, and Juliane Brauer in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

When dogs look like their owners, it's actually more common than you'd expect. We Rate Dogs, www.youtube.com

Dogs have been part of humans’ lives for over 30,000 years, and in that time “have evolved special social-cognitive abilities that have allowed the dog and human bond to exist in the shape as we know it today,” the study shares. Due of this, “there is a tendency of dogs as a species becoming increasingly similar to the humans in some aspects, allowing for better cooperation between them.” This happens with behavior, but, in its own way, it also happens with appearance–though on the part of the human.

When a human selects a dog, studies have shown that the human is more likely to choose a dog, whether consciously or not, that resembles them in some way. Per the study, this is known as the “Similarity Because of Choice hypothesis,” where “dogs and humans form a team because of their similarity.” This extends to physical appearance. For example, while participating in a dog-rating study, “women with shorter hair or who wear their hair back mostly tended to rate the breeds Siberian Husky and Basenji (short ears) higher on the dimensions of likeability, friendliness, loyalty, and intelligence,” the study says. The inverse was true for women with long hair, who embraced dogs like the Springer Spaniel and the beagle, both of which are known for their long ears. There was regularly at least some correlation between dog owner and dog appearance throughout the studies researched.

A scene from 101 Dalmatians featuring dogs that has fun with the idea of dogs looking like their owners. www.youtube.com

Another fun way to look at this premise is in pop culture. There’s that famous scene in the original 101 Dalmatians for example (above), where Pongo tries to choose a mate for his owner as a parade of women and dogs who closely resemble them walk past their window. There’s also Marvin the Martian fromLooney Tunes and his dog K-9, and even the photography of artist Gerrard Gethings. Gethings’ Do You Look Like Your Dog? series cast models and dogs that look similar to see if people could match them; two were actual dog-and-owner pairs of the 25 sets, however.

But the phenomenon is a real one, and scientifically proven. “There's actually the psychological phenomenon of humans in general preferring pets or being around people, specifically companionship, around those who resemble themselves,” Psychiatrist Dr. Varsha Radhakrishnan of Tufts University told Boston’s WCVB Channel 5. “So this might actually have something to do with that underlying intuition or drive and desire that we all have to seek something that's both comforting and familiar.”

So, the next time you take a look at your favorite furry friend, just think—you may also be looking in the mirror.

A segment on WCVB Channel 5 Boston that discusses why dogs might look like their owners, or rather why owners might look like their dogs. WCVB Channel 5 Boston, www.youtube.com