Well, this certainly explains a lot about Norton! That dog is whacko! The article is mainly concerned with how domestication has affect the sense of smell in various breeds, but surely reshaping the brain has to have some effect on behavior.
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Scientific American, August 13, 2010
Changing Minds: Has Selective Breeding Restructured Some Dog Brains?
A new study suggests dog breeding by humans has altered brain structure and position in short-skulled canines, possibly diminishing their olfactory abilities
By Ferris Jabr
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I love the description Jabr offers of the breed: "flat-faced pug, whose wrinkled muzzle resembles a collapsed accordion."
He goes on to say, "The brains of puglike dogs did not sit inside the skull in the same way as brains of long-snouted dogs, whose skulls and brains more closely match those of the domestic dog's wolf ancestor. In other words, the findings imply that when selective breeding by humans squashed the snouts of certain dog breeds, it also morphed their brains."
And he offers this interesting quote from neuroscientist Michael Valenzuela of the University of New South Wales in Australia: "The whole brain had rotated in more puglike dogs."
I would venture to say that Norton's brain has probably been rotated several times. And that's just since this morning!