[Dogs have been happening for a while now.]
I was watching an episode of Nova last night called Dogs:Decoded. It was so amazing! Basically, it was about how geneticists, anthropologists, and archaeologists are beginning to recognize the important role dogs had in progressing humanity out of the hunter-gatherer stage. They have begun conducting experiments and gathering data evaluating things dog owners have claimed for years; namely, that dogs and people can understand each other.
The data was fascinating.
On the human side, most people seem to be able to understand a dog's basic emotions. When given audio of different kinds of barks, people can accurately identify the emotion or situation the dog is trying to convey. Curiously, wolves (the dogs direct ancestor), bark very little. They make occasional sounds in order to convey danger, but the sounds dogs make seem to have originated solely as a method of communicating with humans. Which makes perfect sense. If you assume a dog has an intelligence level similar to that of a toddler before it begins forming words, many of the comparisons become clear. Any parent can tell you their child understands words and meanings, and communicates in their own way, before they learn speech. Why not a dog? In fact, further research indicates that when a human is petting a dog, both experience a jump in oxytocin levels, the same hormone that helps generate the bond between a mother and a newborn. It's no wonder we bond with them.
[Clearly the happiest dog ever.]
On the animal side it gets even more interesting. Dogs have become adept at learning non-verbal cues. Not only are they capable of understanding hand signals--such as pointing or other information providing gestures, they are able to understand them as a rule, and not as an exception. Even small puppies are able to follow the direction of a pointed finger. While other animals, such as chimps, do theoretically have the ability to learn and understand hand signals, it takes a significant amount of training and does not seem to be a universal trait like it is in dogs.
Even more importantly, dogs can read our emotions. In multiple studies, it has become clear that dogs use the same method of facial tracking that humans do to read emotions. They are the only known animal that does this.
[How is this not the most adorable thing you've ever seen?]
So three-cheers for the dog owners. Turns out they were right all along! (But maybe still you shouldn't have long conversations with your dog like you expect him to answer.)
