Scientists Find Golden Retrievers Share Mental-Health Genes With Humans

A new study has uncovered a surprising biological connection between humans and one of the world’s most beloved dog breeds – golden retrievers.

Indeed, researchers at the University of Cambridge have identified multiple genes in golden retrievers that not only influence canine behavior like fearfulness, aggression, and trainability, but also shape emotional and cognitive traits in humans, including anxiety, depression, and intelligence.

The findings, published November 24 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, represent the first large-scale evidence that the emotional lives of dogs and humans are intertwined at the genetic level.

By analyzing DNA from 1,300 golden retrievers and comparing it to detailed behavioral evaluations collected from owners, the team identified clear genetic signatures behind traits like fear or unfamiliar people, aggression toward other dogs, activity levels, and how easily the animals learn.

When the researchers compared these same genetic markers to large human genetic datasets, they found that twelve of the dog behavior genes play parallel roles in shaping human emotional and cognitive tendencies.

Where Dogs and Humans Emotionally Converge

According to Dr. Eleanor Raffan, a researcher in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience who led the study, the overlap is far from accidental. She explained that many of the identified genes regulate emotional states in both species, suggesting a shared biological foundation for how dogs and humans process stress, learn, and react to their environment:

“The findings are really striking – they provide strong evidence that humans and golden retrievers have shared genetic roots for their behavior. The genes we identified frequently influence emotional states and behavior in both species.”

One gene in particular, PTPN1, was associated with aggression toward other dogs but is linked in humans to depression and intelligence. Another variant tied to dogs that scare easily is associated in humans with sensitivity, lingering worry after embarrassment, and even high educational achievement.

These echoes between species hint at a deeper evolutionary relationship, one where emotional regulation and social behavior may have followed surprisingly parallel paths.

For pet owners, the research adds a new dimension to understanding their dogs’ behavior. A golden retriever that struggles with fear, for example, may not simply be misbehaving. Its genetics may predispose it to experience the world as overwhelming. The study suggests that training success, too, partly depends on emotional wiring.

The gene associated with trainability in dogs, ROMO1, plays a role in human intelligence and emotional sensitivity, meaning that learning for dogs is as much an emotional process as a cognitive one.

Researchers say these insights could eventually improve training, veterinary care, and even therapeutic approaches. If certain behaviors stem from emotional predispositions rather than stubbornness, then interventions like anxiety medications and tailored training strategies may become both more compassionate and more effective.

What the Shared Genes Mean for Dog Owners

The broader implication is striking: dogs living in human homes do not just share our environment but also some of the psychological vulnerabilities that accompany modern life. 

As Professor Daniel Mills, a specialist in problem animal behavior at the University of Lincoln and one of the researchers in the study, noted, pets may serve as valuable models for human psychiatric conditions, offering scientists and pet owners a unique window into the biology of emotion. In his words:

“Dogs in our home share not only our physical environment, but may also share some of the psychological challenges associated with modern living. Our pets may be excellent models of some human psychiatric conditions associated with emotional disturbance.“

Earlier, a group of scientists that also included Dr. Raffan, have also identified genes that might be responsible for obesity in both humans and Labradors, specifically DENND1B, which directly affects a brain pathway responsible for regulating the energy balance in the body, called the leptin-melanocortin pathway.

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