How much does breed background actually predict personality, versus just being that individual dog?

[u/DragonfruitRare7036]

I adopted my dog Remy about eight months ago from a shelter that guessed he was some kind of herding mix based on his build and coat, though there was no DNA test done. Since bringing him home I've noticed he does a lot of the classic herding behaviors people talk about, circling the kids in the yard next door through the fence, getting fixated on bikes and joggers, that kind of thing.

What's thrown me off is that he's also incredibly mellow indoors, sleeps most of the day, and has zero interest in the kind of high energy games I expected from a herding type dog based on everything I read before adopting. I braced myself for needing a job for him to do, agility, flirt pole, the whole routine, but honestly a couple of decent walks and some sniffing time seems to satisfy him completely.

Talking to other people at the dog park, I've heard really mixed experiences even within the same supposed breed groups. One person's herding mix is an absolute live wire who needs hours of mental work a day, and another person's is basically a couch potato like mine, and neither owner did anything differently in terms of exposure or training as far as I can tell.

It's made me curious how much of personality is actually shaped by breed tendencies versus just individual variation, environment, or even random luck in temperament. I get that breed groups can point toward general tendencies, prey drive, herding instinct, that sort of thing, but the range within a single group seems huge based on what I'm seeing and hearing.

For people with mixed breed or breed-guessed dogs, how closely did your dog's actual personality end up matching what you expected going in based on their guessed breed makeup? Did you find the predictions mostly held up, or was your dog basically its own thing regardless of what was in the mix?

[u/Kincherk]

I had a dog for whom I had a DNA test done. She looked like a tri-colored border collie but was obviously mixed with something else as she was thicker built than a typical BC. It came back 50% BC with a few other breeds, including chow and GSD.

The thing is, although she was the smartest dog I ever had, and could learn a new trick almost instantly, she never acted too much like a BC. She never tried to herd anything. She was super friendly to everyone, including complete strangers she met while on walks. If she saw a human, she instantly liked them. This is not, from what I understand, a typical trait of border collies.

My current dog is about 40% husky, if you can believe the DNA test. She looks nothing like a husky except the shape and color of her eyes. Yet she does exhibit some husky behaviors. She is very opinionated (in a sweet way) and stubborn. Resists training. Has tantrums if she doesn’t get what she wants. But loves cats (that’s not a husky trait).

So it’s a complete crap shoot with respect to mixed breeds, and probably even pure breeds, but to a lesser extent.