I’m sure most of us are ready to believe that the dog is man’s best friend. But did we know that they actually seem to understand us even better than our closest relatives (no, not those ones) the chimpanzee? Oh yes, they do. And we understand them right back.
Studies of the eye movements of dogs when they look at us show that they do so in exactly the same way as humans do with each other – they look slightly more at the left side of the face. They respond easily to our instructions, emotions and needs. When they recorded different barks and played them back to people, there was remarkable unanimity on what those barks meant; for example, give me the ball, who’s this stranger on the other side of the fence, untie me, etc. But how did dogs get to be so tuned in to human beings? Is it that they’re socialized wolves and foxes? In fact, would wolves behave the same if they’re kept as pets?
This BBC Horizon documentary takes a good long look at dogs and us. Not only is it really nice to watch because you see so many dogs but also because of the interesting facts and studies that would add to your understanding of these lovely companions.
The name of the film is of course all wrong, but I’ve become used to every second documentary from the top channels being secret this and secret that. If you get a chance to see this documentary – or should I say, dogumentary – catch it. Oh wait a minute, here it is on youtube.
Dogs are a man’s best friend! The statement is not without substance. There are stories galore of the human-dog bondings. Many movies, scripts, history books, bedtime stories, etc are dedicated to this relationship. In fact, in many walks of life we are completely dependant on dogs – to survive. We need dogs to ‘man’ our sheeps, to detect drugs and bombs, to pull our sleighs, to guard our homes and herds, to relax our minds after a hard day’s work, to alert us of possible danger, and even when we are not owning or taking care of them – they guard our streets from strangers (talking of stray dogs), etc, etc.
So do dogs do this selflessly? Well, experts call this mutual dependance. Dogs need us as much as we need them. Dogs are not meant for the wild – like wolves and foxes. They need a human or a human presence to feel safe. Dogs get overwhelmed when we pat them or give them an ounce of affection. Unlike any other pet, dogs crave attention. In fact dog owners relate the behavior of dogs to our own – jealous of the new born child (relate it to the older kid in the house), angry at being left behind at home, crying on heart break, and nearly displaying all human emotions.
It all began when we were hunters. We needed an animal who can be tamed to help us track prey, to kill it and fetch it for us. In return they can have their share of the hunt. Dog was perfect for this profile. As time passed, dog went where we went, and adapted itself to our way of life. Now humans and dogs are inseparable – I guess!
Mala