When were dogs first domesticated?
The date for the exact domestication of dogs is difficult to determine. Most archaeologists say that they were domesticated nearly 16,000 years ago in Europe and then they were domesticated once more in Asia, 14,000 years ago. These two lineages of dogs were both domesticated from separate wolves. Scientist, Mietje Germonpre, from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences has evidence of possibly the first dog, a 32,000 year old canine skull, found in a Belgian cave. Archaeologists have also discovered that as human diets changed in history, domesticated dogs changed along with them. At first, dogs were domesticated for herding to hunting, used as guards, and have since evolved to be household pets.
What are the physical, emotional, and social benefits of having a dog?
The physical, emotional, and social benefits of having a dog are numerous. Scientific studies have shown that having a dog can improve heart health, lowering blood pressure and by making humans more physically active. Dogs can offer emotional support by giving us the same reaction that we get from maternal bonding and trust. Our brains secrete oxytocin, the hormone that is related to bonding, it is the only case where this has happened between two species. The social benefits of having a dog are that people more often acquire more acquaintances when owning a dog, because the dog forces you to stop and talk to people. Often dog owners are a community of like minded individuals who enjoy discussing their pets. For years dogs have been trained as service dogs, helping the blind, veterans suffering from PTSD, or simply visiting hospitals and nursing homes to lift the spirits of patients.
Why are dogs great companions?
Dogs have become great companions for humans because we both are very social animals. Wolves and dogs are almost indistinguishable from each other, genetically, other than one exception. Dogs and humans are genetically different in almost every way, but we both share similar genes that contribute to hyper-sociability in our chromosomes. Dogs have started to fill the gaps in our lives, now that people are having fewer children, not as many long lasting marriages, and more isolated lives. What once was a mutual and symbiotic relationship is now more of a love relationship and it has lived in the parts of our brain that we humans might call the heart.
What influence do dogs have on humans?
Researchers at the Canine Cognition Research Lab at Yale University have been studying dogs to see how they learn and have discovered that dogs can teach us what it means to be human. They believe that dogs have a communicative bond with humans from thousands of years of being shaped by people. Through their research they hope to discover the role that experience plays in human cognition. Brian Hare, an evolutionary anthropologist, works at the Duke Canine Cognition Center and is interested in how dog’s ways inform us about ourselves. His main focus of study is how dogs trust and form relationships and how this can be related to developmental disorders in people. Courtney Sexton is a doctoral student at George Washington University’s Department of Anthropology’s Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology. Her research focuses on the coevolution of dogs and humans, particularly about the evolution of human language learned from dogs.
Who first said that dogs are man’s best friend and why is this statement true?
It is believed that the phrase “man’s best friend” was first used by King Frederick of Prussia, in 1789. “The only, absolute and best friend that a man has, in this selfish world, the only one that will not betray or deny him, is his dog.” Sigmund Freud became compassionate about dogs late in his life, saying they were his most trusted companions and even colleagues. He even depended on their insights about people and kept his dogs in sessions with patients. He once wrote, “Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and have to mix love and hate.” Dogs truly are man’s best friend, they are loyal and we love them unconditionally.