An award-winning team of journalists, designers and videographers who tell the brand story through the unique lens of Fast Company
In the human world, more and more scholars are focusing on dominant hand and any possible connection with outstanding talents, intelligence or athletic ability. Are some of us more destined to succeed, depending on which hand our five-year-old selves use to pick up writing utensils? Scientists have searched almost every corner of the brain for answers, but the results are still relatively uncertain-therefore, in the spirit of tribalism, we are surpassing the limits of our own species.
Are some dogs more destined to become superstars? What is je ne sais quoi that drives a dog to be a good lifeguard, bomb sniffer or search and rescue hero? Does it have anything to do with dominant hand (well, paw)? To find the answer, the researchers began to study the talented dogs of the Canine Olympics: Westminster Kennel Club performances.
A team from the canine genetic testing company Embark gathered 105 dogs participating in the Westminster Weekend Championships and passed a series of tests to determine the paw advantage. Its main barometer is the “stepping test”, which can determine which paw the dog uses when it starts to walk from a standing or sitting state, or straddling a strategically placed stick. (Other tests observe which direction the dog turns in the crate, or which paw it uses to wipe a piece of tape from its nose.) Among the dogs, the team found that most dogs have right paws: 63%, or 29 46 participating in the master class Dogs in the agility obstacle race prefer the right paw; and 61%, or 36 out of 59 dogs, participated in the flagship exhibition.
But this does not mean that right-paw dogs dominate. Embark’s results are actually consistent with a recent study, which showed that right-paw dogs accounted for about 58% of the overall dog population, which means that they are equally represented in the Westminster Dog Olympics. Just like humans, more dogs prefer the right-and in terms of talent, there is no clear winner among the tribes.
Embark’s results do point to potential differences in paw sex between breeds: after dividing dogs into the collie, terrier, and hunting dog categories, the data shows that 36% of the shepherd and hunting dogs are left paws, and a considerable 72% The hound is left-handed. However, the researchers warn that the number of hunting dogs is the smallest of all breeds (only 11 dogs in total), which means that more data is needed to verify this finding.
But in general, we think the uncertainty here is comforting. Whether it is right paw or left paw, the sky is the limit for a dog’s achievement! Who knows, yours might even be a genius!
Finally-for the inspiration of “Your Dog”-this is this year’s Westminster Best Performance Award winner mustard:
Congratulations # mustard! You can see this year’s #BestInShow dog on @foxandfriends this morning! ???? pic.twitter.com/L6PId3b97i
Post time: Sep-09-2021