Belgian Sheepdog and German Shepherd
What both sides can say, then where they part, then what only one side can say, then what nobody has measured yet. A number without its sample does not appear.
Breed explains about 8.9% of the Morrill behavior factors in the paper. A bar here is a breed lean, never a prediction about a dog.
What they share
What does carrier rate mean?
The share of tested dogs of a breed that carry at least one copy of a specific disease variant.
How to read it: Higher = more common in the breed. 'Carrier' means carrying the variant, not having the disease.
Carrier is NOT the same as affected, especially for recessive variants. Figures come from tested (direct-to-consumer) dogs, which can skew the rate. Worth asking your vet.
What does carrier rate mean?
The share of tested dogs of a breed that carry at least one copy of a specific disease variant.
How to read it: Higher = more common in the breed. 'Carrier' means carrying the variant, not having the disease.
Carrier is NOT the same as affected, especially for recessive variants. Figures come from tested (direct-to-consumer) dogs, which can skew the rate. Worth asking your vet.
What does carrier rate mean?
The share of tested dogs of a breed that carry at least one copy of a specific disease variant.
How to read it: Higher = more common in the breed. 'Carrier' means carrying the variant, not having the disease.
Carrier is NOT the same as affected, especially for recessive variants. Figures come from tested (direct-to-consumer) dogs, which can skew the rate. Worth asking your vet.
What does carrier rate mean?
The share of tested dogs of a breed that carry at least one copy of a specific disease variant.
How to read it: Higher = more common in the breed. 'Carrier' means carrying the variant, not having the disease.
Carrier is NOT the same as affected, especially for recessive variants. Figures come from tested (direct-to-consumer) dogs, which can skew the rate. Worth asking your vet.
Where they differ
What does carrier rate mean?
The share of tested dogs of a breed that carry at least one copy of a specific disease variant.
How to read it: Higher = more common in the breed. 'Carrier' means carrying the variant, not having the disease.
Carrier is NOT the same as affected, especially for recessive variants. Figures come from tested (direct-to-consumer) dogs, which can skew the rate. Worth asking your vet.
What does carrier rate mean?
The share of tested dogs of a breed that carry at least one copy of a specific disease variant.
How to read it: Higher = more common in the breed. 'Carrier' means carrying the variant, not having the disease.
Carrier is NOT the same as affected, especially for recessive variants. Figures come from tested (direct-to-consumer) dogs, which can skew the rate. Worth asking your vet.
What does carrier rate mean?
The share of tested dogs of a breed that carry at least one copy of a specific disease variant.
How to read it: Higher = more common in the breed. 'Carrier' means carrying the variant, not having the disease.
Carrier is NOT the same as affected, especially for recessive variants. Figures come from tested (direct-to-consumer) dogs, which can skew the rate. Worth asking your vet.
What does carrier rate mean?
The share of tested dogs of a breed that carry at least one copy of a specific disease variant.
How to read it: Higher = more common in the breed. 'Carrier' means carrying the variant, not having the disease.
Carrier is NOT the same as affected, especially for recessive variants. Figures come from tested (direct-to-consumer) dogs, which can skew the rate. Worth asking your vet.
What does carrier rate mean?
The share of tested dogs of a breed that carry at least one copy of a specific disease variant.
How to read it: Higher = more common in the breed. 'Carrier' means carrying the variant, not having the disease.
Carrier is NOT the same as affected, especially for recessive variants. Figures come from tested (direct-to-consumer) dogs, which can skew the rate. Worth asking your vet.
What does carrier rate mean?
The share of tested dogs of a breed that carry at least one copy of a specific disease variant.
How to read it: Higher = more common in the breed. 'Carrier' means carrying the variant, not having the disease.
Carrier is NOT the same as affected, especially for recessive variants. Figures come from tested (direct-to-consumer) dogs, which can skew the rate. Worth asking your vet.
One side known
Belgian Sheepdog: not on this side · German Shepherd: 11.3 years (n=19908)
What cited lifespan means
How long dogs of this breed tend to live, from McMillan 2024 (VetCompass). A population median.
Belgian Sheepdog: 15 atlas dogs, no breed weight logged yet. · German Shepherd: 68 lb (n=381)
What typical adult weight means
Typical adult weight, in pounds.
Belgian Sheepdog: 15 atlas dogs, no lifespan-for-size logged yet. · German Shepherd: -1.6 years for size (n=381)
What does longevity for its size mean?
How much longer or shorter a breed tends to live than its body size predicts (bigger dogs live shorter on average — this measures the gap from that expectation).
How to read it: Positive = lives longer than its size predicts; negative = shorter. At the extremes, roughly +3 years (longest-lived for its size) down to about -4 years.
A population pattern, not a guarantee for an individual dog.
Belgian Sheepdog: Not enough yet (n=15) · German Shepherd: Belgian Shepherd (n=381)
What genetic neighbors means
Where this breed sits among others in the atlas. Placement, not pedigree.
Belgian Sheepdog: 34% · German Shepherd: 27% (n=381)
What does genetic diversity mean?
How varied a breed's gene pool is — the share of gene spots where a typical dog of the breed carries two different versions rather than two identical ones.
How to read it: Higher = more diverse. Among well-sampled breeds it ranges roughly 0.22 (least diverse) to 0.33 (most diverse).
Diversity is a strength, not a verdict on any individual dog. Lower diversity means it's worth paying attention to recessive-risk testing — not that a dog is doomed.
Belgian Sheepdog: Not in the Morrill set. · German Shepherd: -0.01 (n=106)
What human sociability means
A breed lean on this factor in the Darwin's Ark paper. Not a prediction about a dog.
Belgian Sheepdog: Not in the Morrill set. · German Shepherd: -0.02 (n=107)
What arousal level means
A breed lean on this factor in the Darwin's Ark paper. Not a prediction about a dog.
Belgian Sheepdog: Not in the Morrill set. · German Shepherd: -0.81 (n=117)
What toy-directed motor patterns means
A breed lean on this factor in the Darwin's Ark paper. Not a prediction about a dog.
Belgian Sheepdog: Not in the Morrill set. · German Shepherd: -0.67 (n=131)
What biddability means
A breed lean on this factor in the Darwin's Ark paper. Not a prediction about a dog.
Belgian Sheepdog: Not in the Morrill set. · German Shepherd: -0.17 (n=120)
What agonistic threshold means
A breed lean on this factor in the Darwin's Ark paper. Not a prediction about a dog.
Belgian Sheepdog: Not in the Morrill set. · German Shepherd: -0.21 (n=131)
What dog sociability means
A breed lean on this factor in the Darwin's Ark paper. Not a prediction about a dog.
Belgian Sheepdog: not on this side · German Shepherd: Afghan Hound (n=381)
What health and build profile neighbor means
Breeds that share a health and build profile. Not family.
What nobody has measured yet
No row is dark on both sides.
Pick a different pairing · Belgian Sheepdog · German Shepherd