Dogs Decoded The relationship between dog and man is one of the sole reasons that humans have been allowed to develop the civilizations that exist today. Dogs and humans have formed an ideal bond because of their understanding between one another as well as the common behaviors they have. Owners of pet dogs claim that their animal knows how they are feeling. This claim is put to the test by examining the process by which a dog examines a human’s face. Humans view the left side of another human’s face to read an emotion. When tested, dogs performed the same analyzing process when looking at a person. This allows dogs to behave accordingly to their owner’s perceived emotion and can even allow them to identify directional cues from the direction
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The closest related ancestor to humans, apes, were the obvious candidate for testing. Dogs are capable of following the point of a finger or directional gaze of a person. Some of them can even distinguish human words and understand that a picture of an object can represent a real object. These skills are consistent with that of a human toddler. The apes, however, were not capable of acknowledging a pointing finger as an instruction. When presented with two cups, one with a treat under and one without, the apes would make an independent decision despite the human indication of which cup contained the treat. Dogs would wait for the human gesture and recognize it as the location at which they should look. Wolves represent another candidate for behavioral similarities because they are 99.8% genetically similar to dogs. Scientists wondered if the varying nurturement between wolves and dogs determined whether they would exhibit wolflike or doglike behaviors, since they were already very closely related genetically. They determined that upbringing has little or no impact on the development of a wolf’s behavior. As the pups grew, they became uninterested in human activities, did not respond to pointing, had no eye contact, and became violently possessive. All of these behaviors prove that there is something pivotal in the 0.2% of DNA in wolves that is different from dogs and makes it …show more content…
Dogs provide emotional and psychological support. This was determined by a test that measured the oxytocin levels of a person having interactions with their pet dog. Oxytocin functions to strengthen the bond between mothers and their babies, but a similar effect was found between owners and their dogs. Oxytocin levels raised in both participants during the experiment, so the relationship is not only beneficial to people, it is an example of mutualism. The release of oxytocin can lower heart rates, decrease blood pressure, and reduce stress. All of which can reduce risk of heart attacks and promote survival of a heart attack. This protects both humans and dogs because both can suffer from these ailments. There are a large amount of genetic diseases that humans and dogs share, including cancer. The similarities between dogs and people can open new doors in the curing of such diseases because in dogs, these diseases are often monogenic and easier to analyze. The relationship between humans and dogs proves to be a mutual one that is unique to the two parties and provides, emotional, mental, and even physical health benefits. It is easy to say that in a world without dogs, we would not have developed to the point at which we are
The closest related ancestor to humans, apes, were the obvious candidate for testing. Dogs are capable of following the point of a finger or directional gaze of a person. Some of them can even distinguish human words and understand that a picture of an object can represent a real object. These skills are consistent with that of a human toddler. The apes, however, were not capable of acknowledging a pointing finger as an instruction. When presented with two cups, one with a treat under and one without, the apes would make an independent decision despite the human indication of which cup contained the treat. Dogs would wait for the human gesture and recognize it as the location at which they should look. Wolves represent another candidate for behavioral similarities because they are 99.8% genetically similar to dogs. Scientists wondered if the varying nurturement between wolves and dogs determined whether they would exhibit wolflike or doglike behaviors, since they were already very closely related genetically. They determined that upbringing has little or no impact on the development of a wolf’s behavior. As the pups grew, they became uninterested in human activities, did not respond to pointing, had no eye contact, and became violently possessive. All of these behaviors prove that there is something pivotal in the 0.2% of DNA in wolves that is different from dogs and makes it …show more content…
Dogs provide emotional and psychological support. This was determined by a test that measured the oxytocin levels of a person having interactions with their pet dog. Oxytocin functions to strengthen the bond between mothers and their babies, but a similar effect was found between owners and their dogs. Oxytocin levels raised in both participants during the experiment, so the relationship is not only beneficial to people, it is an example of mutualism. The release of oxytocin can lower heart rates, decrease blood pressure, and reduce stress. All of which can reduce risk of heart attacks and promote survival of a heart attack. This protects both humans and dogs because both can suffer from these ailments. There are a large amount of genetic diseases that humans and dogs share, including cancer. The similarities between dogs and people can open new doors in the curing of such diseases because in dogs, these diseases are often monogenic and easier to analyze. The relationship between humans and dogs proves to be a mutual one that is unique to the two parties and provides, emotional, mental, and even physical health benefits. It is easy to say that in a world without dogs, we would not have developed to the point at which we are