Humans and dogs have had a special bond for thousands of years—we see it in the way dogs work, play, and live with us. Most experts agree that this relationship developed when the wolf, the dog’s ancestor, and human came in contact with each other. Some wolves, for unknown reasons, attached themselves to this strange two-legged species and from that early contact, dogs as we have come to know them evolved.
Dogs Love Us, They Really Love Us
No one disputes the clear bond dogs have with us and there have been many studies that explore this attachment. Some researchers reason that it has to do with the dog’s cognitive abilities, but others believe it has less to do with intelligence and more to do with friendliness and sociability. Some researchers have used the term “hypersociability” to describe this trait in canines.
Gregory Berns, a neuroscientist at Emory University, used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to follow what goes on in a dog’s brain during interactions with humans. He found that a dog’s reward center is as active when the dog is praised as when they’re given a hot dog. And we all know how much dogs love hot dogs! In additional research, Dr. Berns demonstrated that some dogs even prefer their owners to food if they’re given the choice. He also found a similarity between the part of a dog’s brain that lights up when they hear their owner’s voice and the same area in our brains that lights up when we’re around someone or something we love… read complete article here.
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