Why do dogs look like their owners?
LAURA RAYNER, VIA EMAIL
Studies that ask participants to match dogs with their owners reveal that pooches do indeed often resemble their people. One reason could be that familiarity breeds content. We love our human family and so are drawn to dogs with similar features, but the phenomenon could also be a spin-off from the way we have evolved to choose our human mates. People who select a physically similar partner may inadvertently be selecting for genetic compatibility, and although our canine relationships are purely platonic, we may subliminally apply the same standards. HP
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