Evolution Says It's Ok...

So I realized some/most people think I am weird for being so crazy about Cooper. Well guess what! I'm not alone. According to a 2011 article published by the New York Times, people spend about $55 BILLION on their pets per year (1)! That's a crazy amount of money for 4-legged fur balls that live only 10-15 years on average. But why are we so in love with our animals? And why are Americans spending fortunes on animals that in other countries are considered dangerous and dirty creatures? Well my goal today is to examine some of the reasons why this may be out of our control.

Cave Art of human and dog. http://www.africanis.co.za/history.htm

Lets start with evolution. According to current data, it seems that dogs and humans actually evolved together! Perhaps we couldn't have gotten to where we are without the help of man's best friend.  Although there is a huge debate on the exact timing when wolves started to become domesticated (between 6000 and 120000 years ago!), many people are starting to believe that dogs made a huge impact on the success of the human species. New research even suggests that humans and canines share similar genes due to thousands of years of living together. Some of these include the ability to digest carbs (dogs can do this more easily than wolves), the presence of diseases such as OCD and obesity, and even the release of certain neurotransmitters in distinct situations (4).

Cooper protecting his family from the feline beasts

So why did we like to hang out with these scary carnivores? First, canines offered protection (2). This is pretty much a no brainer. With this kind of security, humans were able to thrive, and even remain in one place. This could have been the beginning of agriculture. With a steady supply of food comes time. With time comes thought. And with thought, humans were able to build things, trade goods, etc.

Cooper hunting ducks

So what else? Having wolves around also improved hunting. Same story as above. More food=more time=more opportunity.

Another huge thing that dogs offered...companionship. We are social animals, and having another species around may have helped us to broaden the ability of humans to interact and form long lasting relationships. Again, this is something that improves survival. A strong pact will stick together and protect, help, and feed others.


This brings me to a much studied, and extremely important point. Communication. There is no other animal that can communicate with humans the way dogs do. (Again, this is most likely because we evolved together) In fact, dogs perform better then chimpanzees in reading human gestures (2). A study performed at Central European University states, " dogs performed as well as human infants at following the gaze of a speaker in tests in which the speaker's head is held still (3)." This is extremely impressive feat that is pretty unique to humans and dogs. It has also been noted in many studies that dogs are the only species that understand what a human pointing at something means. Ever try pointing at something for a cat? a horse? a fish? Well in case you haven't..it doesn't work. (I tried this with my cats after I first read about it, and they stared at me for about 2 seconds like I was an idiot and then walked away). Why is this so important? Well, it gave us another member of the team. With humans and dogs working together, a lot more could be accomplished in a shorter amount of time. In addition, dogs offered us what we perceive as a friendship. This is important for the psyche of people. Going through difficult situations with a friend always makes things easier.

Dog and owner at agility show. http://blog.stowaway2.com/2011/09/agility-dog-competitions/

    Now there's a lot of debate about whether our pets really love us, or if they just show us affection as a means to get what they want. Kind of like a survival of the cutest. Well here's the thing, until dogs can start talking human, or people start understanding bark, we aren't going to know. However, there have been some scientific studies indicating that humans and dogs have some changes in the brain going on when they are together. For example, multiple studies have found that both dogs and humans release the bonding hormone oxytocin when in each others presence (5). This is the same hormone that moms release when bonding with their babies while breastfeeding. Other studies have shown that just seeing your pet can cause an increase in oxytocin in the brain. What is interesting is these studies often only showed the increase in women, and not men. Researchers are not sure why there is a difference, but I think it's because dogs know it's more important to bond with the real boss of the pack ;). Another example:

"In dogs, we found that activity in the caudate increased in response to hand signals indicating food. The caudate also activated to the smells of familiar humans. And in preliminary tests, it activated to the return of an owner who had momentarily stepped out of view. Do these findings prove that dogs love us? Not quite. But many of the same things that activate the human caudate, which are associated with positive emotions, also activate the dog caudate. Neuroscientists call this a functional homology, and it may be an indication of canine emotions.(6)"

Furthermore, you can look at the thousands of examples of dogs who have risked their lives to save their humans.  Here is just one of the many stories you can find. It is about a dog who saved her young owner from a cougar.
http://www.today.com/id/34701355/ns/today-today_news/t/hero-dog-saves-boy-cougar-attack/#.UlsLlCSE454   (warning this one is a tear jerker!)

Angel the Golden who saved her 11 year old owner. http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/04/boy.cougar.attack/index.html

So no matter whether you believe your dog worships you, or if it's just a relationship we humans imagine to make us feel better for being crazy about our pets, there is at least some proof that something is going on in our heads that may be making us think we are loved. 

Cooper laying with his human (aka me)

I could go on about this for hours. After all, it is one of my favorite subjects. However, I'm not trying to bore you more than I already have. Nevertheless, next time you see someone running down the street with their dog, think of them hunting thousands of years ago (sometimes I pretend this is what Coop and I are doing on our runs). Or when a dog is growling at someone who comes too close to their house, think how important of a trait this was thousands of years ago when we lived without electricity or homes, and were subject to many predators. How about when people cry more in a movie over a dog dying then a human? Maybe it's because time and again, dogs have proven just how good of friends they can be. When you think it's weird that someone is pointing something out to their dog, just remember, this is another form of communication just between two different species. And most importantly, when we are fussing over our pooches, and spending thousands on them, remember that to we are showing our best friends how much we care and appreciate them.
So don't judge the dog lovers! Remember that we are the ones who are doing what evolutionarily makes sense!

Coop and I getting ready to run/hunt together

If you are interested more in this topic, one of my favorite books on the subject is "The Dog Who Couldn't Stop Loving: How Dogs Have Captured Our Hearts for Thousands of Years", by  Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson.



*Note: this blog is not meant to be a research article, and only offers some insight into the topic, and some of my own personal opinion


1. Andrew, Martin. "'For the Dogs' Has a Whole New Meaning." New York Times. N.p., 4 June 2011. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/business/05pets.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

2.  Hare, Brian, and Vanessa Woods. "Opinion: We Didn’t Domesticate Dogs. They Domesticated Us." National Geographic. N.p., 3 Mar. 2013. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. <Opinion: We Didn’t Domesticate Dogs. They Domesticated Us.>.

3.  Garber, Megan. "Humanity's Best Friend: How Dogs May Have Helped Humans Beat the Neanderthals." The Atlantic. N.p., 14 May 2011. Web. 01 Oct. 2013. <http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/05/humanitys-best-friend-how-dogs-may-have-helped-humans-beat-the-neanderthals/257145/>.

4.  Lee, Jane J. "Dog and Human Genomes Evolved Together." National Geographic. N.p., 14 May 2013. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130514-dogs-domestication-humans-genome-science/>.

5. Daley Olmert, Meg. "DOG GOOD." Psychology Today. N.p., 5 May 2010. Web. 13 Oct. 2013. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/made-each-other/201005/dog-good>.

6.  Berns, Gregory. "Dogs Are People, Too." New York Times. N.p., 5 Oct. 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/opinion/sunday/dogs-are-people-too.html?pagewanted=all&_r=3&http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/opinion/sunday/dogs-are-people-too.html?pagewanted=all&>.