介绍： For all the talk of dogs and humans being best friends, sometimes representatives of the two species just don’t click. Giving up an unsuitable family pet can be heartbreaking, but, if the animal is an expensive working dog, it can also be financially ruinous. Guide dogs, for example, can cost up to $50,000 t...

介绍： For all the talk of dogs and humans being best friends, sometimes representatives of the two species just don’t click. Giving up an unsuitable family pet can be heartbreaking, but, if the animal is an expensive working dog, it can also be financially ruinous. Guide dogs, for example, can cost up to $50,000 to train, but about a third are returned because they don’t click with their allocated owner.
尽管人们都在谈论狗和人类是最好的朋友，但有时这两个物种的代表就是不合时宜。放弃一只不合适的家庭宠物可能会令人心碎，但是，如果动物是一只昂贵的工作犬，它也可能在经济上造成毁灭性损失。例如，导盲犬的训练费用可能高达 50,000 美元，但大约三分之一被退回，因为它们没有与分配的主人合作。
To cut down on the number of mismatches, researchers in Germany are trying to develop more harmonious pooch-person relationships. Their work towards that goal has now confirmed what many dog-owners already suspect, and what some may be reluctant to admit: dogs really do look like their humans. More relevant to the quest for lasting friendships, they have similar personalities too.
为了减少不匹配的数量，德国的研究人员正在努力发展更和谐的狗与人的关系。他们为实现这一目标所做的工作现在已经证实了许多狗主人已经怀疑的事情，以及有些人可能不愿意承认的事情：狗确实看起来像他们的人类。与追求持久友谊更相关的是，他们也有相似的性格。
“We are interested in understanding what makes a good dog-owner match and to find out how we can find the right dog for a person,” says Yana Bender, a PhD student at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena. “To do that, we first need to establish the status quo: are dogs and their owners generally more similar or more different?”
“我们有兴趣了解什么是好的狗主人匹配，并了解如何为一个人找到合适的狗，”耶拿马克斯普朗克地质人类学研究所的博士生 Yana Bender 说。“要做到这一点，我们首先需要建立现状：狗和它们的主人通常更相似还是更不同？”
Writing in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, Ms Bender and her colleagues have reviewed the available evidence to show how the similarities show through. One domain concerns physical appearance. While it might sound barking, numerous studies in recent decades have shown that people really can match pictures of dogs to their owners more often and more reliably than would be possible with guesswork alone.
本德尔女士和她的同事在《人格与个体差异》（Personality and Individual Differences）杂志上撰文，回顾了现有证据，以表明相似性是如何显现出来的。一个领域涉及外貌。虽然听起来像是吠叫，但近几十年来的大量研究表明，与仅靠猜测相比，人们确实可以更频繁、更可靠地将狗的照片与主人相匹配。
Some sources of similarity are clear: women with short hair tend to own dogs with short ears, for example, while those with long hair tend to favour long-eared breeds. People with higher body-mass-indices also tend to have more overweight dogs. Other connections are less obvious, as shown by research revealing dogs and owners can be correctly paired from pictures in which only their eyes are visible.
一些相似之处很清楚：例如，短发女性倾向于拥有短耳狗，而长发女性往往喜欢长耳品种。体重指数较高的人也往往有更多的超重狗。其他联系不太明显，正如研究表明，狗和主人可以从只能看到眼睛的照片中正确配对。
A similar affinity bias may be at play for invisible characteristics as well, with owners’ personality traits mirrored in the way their dogs behave. Introverted owners have dogs that are more nervous around strangers, neurotics are more likely to pair with aggressive pets and conscientious people own dogs that are more motivated and easier to train. Owners of breeds classed as dangerous, such as the notorious XL Bully, rate themselves higher on traits like sensation-seeking and psychopathy.
类似的亲和力偏差也可能适用于不可见的特征，主人的性格特征反映在他们的狗的行为方式上。内向的主人养的狗在陌生人面前更紧张，神经质的人更有可能与好斗的宠物配对，而尽职尽责的人拥有更有动力且更容易训练的狗。被归类为危险品种的主人，例如臭名昭著的 XL Bully，在寻求感觉和精神病等特征上对自己的评价更高。
What is going on? Psychologists have known for decades that humans place more value on relationships with people that look and behave like them, and the same seems to apply to dogs. Women with short hair rate short-eared breeds such as the Siberian Husky and Basenji as friendlier and more intelligent. Long-haired women think the same about Beagles and Springer Spaniels. (What the dogs think is a question for another day.)
这是怎么回事？几十年来，心理学家已经知道，人类更重视与长相和行为相似的人的关系，这似乎也适用于狗。短发女性认为西伯利亚雪橇犬和巴森吉犬等短耳犬种更友好、更聪明。长发女性对比格犬和史宾格猎犬也有同样的看法。（狗们怎么想是改天再说的问题。
The phenomenon of matching personalities appears to be more complex than that of matching looks. Rather than people simply selecting a dog they believe matches their personality, the moods and behaviour of the owner could influence and shape the dog over time—and to a lesser extent, vice versa. Being around less confident people, for example, could make a dog more nervous, while having an anxious dog can exacerbate an owner’s worries.
性格匹配的现象似乎比外表匹配更复杂。人们不是简单地选择他们认为符合他们个性的狗，而是主人的情绪和行为可以随着时间的推移影响和塑造狗——在较小程度上，反之亦然。例如，与不太自信的人在一起可能会使狗更加紧张，而养一只焦虑的狗会加剧主人的担忧。
Similar influences have been found in human-human relationships. “Married couples tend to resemble each other more over time,” Ms Bender says.
在人与人的关系中也发现了类似的影响。“随着时间的推移，已婚夫妇往往彼此更加相似，”Bender 女士说。
There are other parallels to human relationships, too. In related research, Ms Bender has interviewed guide-dog owners about what works and what doesn’t. Among those who felt incompatible with their dog were owners who said they had a better relationship with a former dog. Another said their pooch didn’t enjoy the same music as them. One said their dog was too meticulous. For best results, find a dog that looks and thinks like you do. Alternatively, consider a cat.
人际关系还有其他相似之处。在相关研究中，Bender 女士采访了导盲犬主人，了解什么有效，什么无效。在那些对他们的狗感到不相容的人中，有主人说他们与以前的狗关系更好。另一位说他们的狗不喜欢和他们一样的音乐。一个人说他们的狗太细致了。为了获得最佳效果，请找一只长相和思维方式都像您的狗。或者，考虑一只猫。