Feel Like an Anxious Golden Retriever Some Days?

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LLet’s be real, dog owners, you don’t always know what you’re getting when you adopt a dog. They range from fearful and clingy to calm and affectionate to boisterous and aggressive. By choosing a particular breed, you tip the scales in your favor in terms of the dog’s personality; Yet there is wide variation within the breed, as many dog ​​parents will lament or celebrate.

Families have been winning at this game of dog roulette for decades by opting for the golden retriever. Originally bred as Scottish hunting dogs, Goldens have been one of the most popular breeds in the United States for decades. The American Kennel Club describes golden retrievers as “outgoing family dogs, trustworthy and eager to please, and relatively easy to train,” adding, “They take a happy, playful approach to life and maintain that puppy-like behavior into adulthood.”

But even the Goldens have their weaknesses.

A study published today in PNAS reveals the genetic basis of certain behavioral traits in golden retrievers. The authors of the article suggest that some of the genes that lead to aggression, fear of the unknown and anxiety in Goldens underlie related human behaviors.

Read more: »Why do some people look like their dogs?»

The study team from the University of Cambridge analyzed the DNA of 1,300 golden retrievers. Since single dog breeds are not very genetically diverse, it was easier to map the genes for personality traits. By matching dogs’ genetic signatures with behavioral traits (assessed through comprehensive owner questionnaires), the team discovered 18 “candidate” genes to explain behaviors such as trainability, fear of strangers and aggression.

Of these 18, 12 have human counterparts associated with human traits and emotions. The gene PTPN1for example, is associated with both intelligence and major depression in humans, as well as aggression in golden retrievers. And the gene ROMO1 in humans is associated with cognitive performance, but also with irritability and sensitivity, linked to the training capacity of the golden retriever. ASCC3associated with neuroticism and anxiety in humans, appears to influence fear in golden retrievers.

“The results are truly striking: they provide strong evidence that humans and golden retrievers have common genetic roots for their behavior,” Eleanor Raffan, study co-author and a veterinarian and geneticist at the University of Cambridge, said in a statement. “The genes we identified frequently influence emotional states and behavior in both species.”

The similarity in the genetic underpinnings of certain behavioral traits in golden retrievers and humans helps explain why some dogs can develop psychiatric disorders similar to those in humans, such as compulsive behavior that closely resembles human obsessive-compulsive disorders. As dogs age, they may also experience cognitive decline similar to Alzheimer’s disease.

So, before you scold your dog for bad behavior, remember that some of this may stem from the dog’s human-adjacent genetic predisposition.

“If your golden retriever cowers behind the sofa every time the doorbell rings, perhaps you could have a little more empathy if you know that he is genetically driven to feel sensitive and anxious,” said Anna Morros-Nuevo, a veterinarian at the University of Cambridge and co-author of the study.

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Main image: Rodolphe_SGT / Pixabay

• Devin Reese

  Published on November 24, 2025

  Devin Reese is the editor-in-chief of Natural history and a science writer based in Alexandria, Virginia.