Short pooches got no reason: study Short dogs are inherently more likely to have obnoxious behaviour traits, Sydney researchers have found. BIG dogs might inspire fear but you can't go past puny pooches for painfulness. Sydney University researchers have uncovered a "short man's syndrome" in dogs after conducting the world's biggest canine personality test. The study analysed owners" reports on 8300 dogs and matched behaviour patterns to 49 breeds. Height proved the most influential characteristic, with short breeds much more likely to exhibit 20 different behavioural traits - all of them negative. "The shorter the dogs, the less controllable their behaviour," said Paul McGreevy, lead author of a report in the British journal PLOS ONE. Short breeds are untrainable, anxious, pushy, jealous and attention-seeking, the study found. They are more likely to beg for food, bail up their owners, mount people, roll around in poo and leave smelly messes in the corner when left alone. Short, light dogs proved more likely to bark at strangers, snap at flies and chase their own tails - considered a canine equivalent to human obsessive-compulsive disorder. Light dogs were more excitable and hyperactive. The researchers also investigated the relationship between skull shape and behaviour, reasoning that generations of breeding may have influenced dogs" brains, and found a link with eight behavioural traits. Long-skulled breeds like Afghans and whippets were more likely to stare compulsively, steal food and terrorise other dogs. The researchers said more study was needed to tell whether nurture or nature made short dogs so obnoxious. "Humans may be more tolerant of undesirable behaviour among small dogs," the paper says, with owners making things worse by overindulging and overprotecting little dogs and underestimating their need for exercise. But the behaviours could also reflect neurological differences, with small dogs "innately more reactive" to threats.