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  2. Better Life

Is your dog manipulating you?

No, you’re not going barking mad. Science shows dogs are more clever than we think. - by Franki Hobson
  • 21 Jun 2019
Is your dog manipulating you?
Getty

Our dogs are the perfect companions – our loyal and best friend, reliable, always excited to see us and most importantly a permanent source of cuddles. But who really has the upper paw, err, hand, in this relationship?

According to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), dogs have evolved, and those sad puppy dog eyes that make you hand over the doggy treats in a flash? Yeah, those puppy dog eyes are a deliberate ploy for pooch to get his own way! Well, kind of…

baby with puppy

Oxytocin overload!

The research, which compared wolves and dogs evolution, shows that the domestication of dogs over a 33,000 year period has transformed the facial muscle anatomy of dogs specifically for facial communication with humans. And not just communication, but specifically, to elicit ‘a caregiving and nurturing response from humans’

“A muscle responsible for raising the inner eyebrow intensely is uniformly present in dogs but not in wolves,” according to the study. This high-intensity movement produced exclusively by dogs increases paedomorphism and resembles an expression humans produce when sad, so its production in dogs may trigger a nurturing response.”

The study suggests that the gaze between dogs and humans (but not wolves and humans) leads to an oxytocin feedback loop, similar to the one that exists between human mothers and infants.

Oxytocin – also known as the love chemical for its loving and nurturing qualities - has a fundamental role during the onset of maternal behaviour and mother−infant attachment and bonding.

puppy love

I said 'I'm perfecting my rollers! Not playing roll over!

The “mutual gaze between dogs and humans seems to trigger an increase of oxytocin in both species, which then increases the motivation to establish eye contact,” according to a different study. “As this cross-species oxytocin loop can be found in dogs and humans, but not between dogs’ closest living relative (the wolf) and humans, selection processes during domestication must have played an important role whereby dogs hijacked the human caregiving response. The most likely evolutionary scenario is that dogs’ ancestor must have, to some extent, expressed characteristics that elicited a caregiving response from humans. Humans then consciously or unconsciously favoured and therefore selected for those characteristics, leading to the analogous adaptations we see in dogs today.”

So next time your four-legged furry friend raises an eyebrow at you, remember, there’s motive. Get those doggy treats ready…  

  • Pets
  • Better Life
Franki Hobson
Franki Hobson
Franki Hobson is a women’s lifestyle journalist and editor with more than twenty years’ experience. Her areas of expertise include homes, parenting and health and well-being.

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YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR
Watch 6:32

YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR

{headline}

{headline}

Dr Harry meets some hero hounds

Dr Harry meets some hero hounds

How to prevent sunburn in dogs

How to prevent sunburn in dogs

Dr Harry helps a kelpie that won’t drop the ball

Dr Harry helps a kelpie that won’t drop the ball

Dr Harry meets Bindi the labradoodle

Dr Harry meets Bindi the labradoodle

{headline}

{headline}

Dr Harry helps two cavoodles with a wee problem

Dr Harry helps two cavoodles with a wee problem

Dr Harry visits Wookie, a sock-stealing labradoodle

Dr Harry visits Wookie, a sock-stealing labradoodle

Couple converts old school bus into their dream tiny home on wheels!

Couple converts old school bus into their dream tiny home on wheels!

{headline}

{headline}

How to treat a dog with anxiety

How to treat a dog with anxiety

Dr Harry visits working dogs

Dr Harry visits working dogs

What is the biggest dog in the world?

What is the biggest dog in the world?

Study proves dog owners live longer, happier lives

Study proves dog owners live longer, happier lives

People are happier and work harder when there’s a dog in the office

People are happier and work harder when there’s a dog in the office

Pet owners could now be fined up to $4000 for not walking their dog

Pet owners could now be fined up to $4000 for not walking their dog

The do’s and don’ts of taking your dog to an off-leash dog park

The do’s and don’ts of taking your dog to an off-leash dog park

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