Your dog may be more than your best friend. It may be a reflection of you.

When selecting thoroughbred dogs, people tend to pick canines that resemble themselves, according to a University of California, San Diego study.

Researchers took separate photographs of 45 dogs and their owners. Judges were shown photos of an owner, the owner's dog, and one other dog. The judges then had to try to pick out the real owner-dog match.

Dogs successfully matched with owners
The judges were able to successfully match 16 of 25 purebred dogs with their owners. There was no evidence of resemblance between mixed breed dogs and their owners, the study found.

The UCSD psychologists who did the study concluded that when people select a dog, "they seek one that, at some level, resembles them and, when they get a purebred, they get what they want."

The study appeared in an issue of the Journal Psychological Science.