Dogs and their owners really do look alike—here’s why

By Tara Law

New research reveals that people aren’t just imagining it—dogs and their owners share striking similarities, from matching hairstyles to mirrored temperaments.

Hope, an Afghan hound, sports the same wild hair as her owner, Henry. British photographer Gerrard Gethings captured the duo as part of a photography series on canines that resemble their owners.

Photograph by Gerrard Gethings

When I strolled into the ring at the Pennington Day dog show’s Look-Alike Contest in suburban New Jersey in the mid-1990s, I had all the confidence of a young girl assured of victory.

After all, my buff cocker spaniel puppy had long, floppy ears that perfectly matched my wavy, blond bob. After winning that first contest, Soccer and I competed for about four years at Pennington Day in an array of matching outfits—hers purloined from my younger sister—racking up a row of blue ribbons. I have not succeeded at anything as consistently since. 

The author with her cocker spaniel, Soccer, circa the mid-1990s.

Photograph courtesy Tara Law (Left) and Photograph courtesy Tara Law (Right)

Turns out, there is actual science to back up the stereotype that dogs look like their owners. A recent review of 15 studies from around the globe suggests that not only people and their pets look and act similarly, but that the similarities between their personalities deepen over time.

In many of the studies, scientists asked study volunteers to match pictures of their dogs and owners, which they did better than they would just by chance. In one study, participants also inferred whether dogs were matched with the correct owners despite only being able to see the dogs’ or the owners’ eyes. (Read why dogs are more like us than we thought.)

Both Sergei and Spike, his Siberian husky, have heterochromia, a genetic condition that causes eyes of different colors.

Photograph by Gerrard Gethings

Sasha and her cavachon, Sydney. A cavachon is a mixed breed of Cavalier King Charles spaniels and bichon frises.

Photograph by Gerrard Gethings

Another found that women often had hair of a similar length to the dogs’ ears—much like my spaniel-like bob and bangs. So what gives? Experts suspect people choose dogs that look like them or reflect them in some way—or perhaps, subconsciously, as in my case, look a bit like a canine version of their child.

The review also showed that dogs and owners have similar personality traits, especially extroversion and neuroticism, and that their temperaments appeared to grow more alike.  The study offers different theories for why, including that owners may be drawn to dogs that are like them to begin with, and as they age together, the two species may regulate each other’s emotions, reinforce each other’s behavior, or learn together.

“It resembles the way we also look for our partners,” says study leader Yana Bender, a doctoral researcher in the DogStudies Research Group at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Germany. Dogs and their owners share “a very close relationship … comparable to many human relationships.” 

Francois has a similar appearance to his French bulldog, Antoine.

Photograph by Gerrard Gethings

Jessica and her bichon frise, Buddy, share the same hairdo. The word "frise" means curly in French.

Photograph by Gerrard Gethings

Deep attachments

Authors of the review, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, noted several limitations to the research, including the relatively small number of dogs and owners included in the studies. Many of the owners who volunteered to participate in the studies also had purebred dogs, and scientists need more data on mixed-breed canines, which are more common worldwide.

What’s more, owner bias plays a role: Without a standardized way to assess dogs’ personalities, scientists must ask people to evaluate their own pets, who can be as hard to think about objectively as your human family. Researchers can address this bias by asking owners more clearcut questions about how dogs act in certain situations, not whether their pup is a good boy.

3:14

A Brief History of Dogs As humankind's oldest companion, dogs have been by our side for thousands of years. See how deeply our histories connect and learn how these lovable canines evolved from formidable carnivores to loyal protectors and members of the family.

The influence humans have on their dogs comes as no surprise to Borbála Turcsán, a research fellow at ELTE Faculty of Science in Hungary who studies dog behavior. She estimated that while about a third of a dog’s personality is genetic, another two-thirds is determined by their environment, which is largely shaped by their owner if they’re together from puppyhood. Dogs are also primed to trust their owners, because tens of thousands of years of domestication made them deeply attached to us.