Dog’s are not only a man’s best friend; they are their oldest one! Humans and canines have had a special bond for thousands of years and having a cuddly best friend isn’t the only thing they’re good for. Studies have shown that the way that dogs look into their owner’s eyes triggers the same hormone response we get when we look at infants. In this article it explains how, “Kikusui lab studies oxytocin, a hormone that plays a role in maternal bonding, trust, and altruism. Other groups have shown that when a mother stares into her baby’s eyes, the baby’s oxytocin levels rise, which causes the infant to stare back into its mother’s eyes, which causes the mother to release more oxytocin, and so on. This positive feedback loop seems to create a strong emotional bond between mother and child during a time when the baby can’t express itself in other ways.” Said by Takefumi Kikusui, who is an animal behaviorist at Azabu University in Sagamihara, Japan.  It was said that dogs have been “hijacking” the human nervous system since the beginning . 

As puppies they already have a genetic makeup to be able to communicate with humans. Now this topic has been debated for decades, about if a dog really understands what their owner is asking of them. Or is it the memory of gestures their owner is making. This is what was said, “The researchers then combined the puppies’ results across these four tasks with the extensive pedigree information on each animal provided by Canine Companions. This allowed the team to assess whether each dog’s family tree, and thus their underlying genetics, provided a better statistical explanation for their performance on the tasks than other factors including the puppy’s breed, sex, age and rearing location. Success in the pointing task as well as a puppy’s tendency to look at a human face during the 30-second script were highly heritable, according to the paper. More than 40 percent of the variation in performance was due to genetics.” So the myth has been busted. It is not all because of hidden treats or hand gestures. It still is present in young dogs minds, though genetics does take majority of the credit. Now, a dog has always been nicknamed  “The man’s best friend”  though when it comes to protecting, dogs don’t guard just one person. They shield all in their pack, meaning families and couples. Not only do they provide happiness and comfortability as a companion, they also provide security within your home. 

Dogs seem to always be alert and aware of their surroundings, and this isn’t on accident. Every kind of dog stems from some sort of wolf ancestor. A wolf’s first instinct is to always protect. Now some breeds are better than others, though all have this trait in a certain capacity. Sometimes your dog has a funny way of showing it. Like when you’re trying to go to the bathroom and your dog won’t leave you alone. This is your dog’s way of showing that you are a part of their pack and they can’t leave you unprotected. It can also be a clingy trait. Just like a toddler, a dog doesn’t want to leave its owner alone because they love you.