Dogs not only benefit the mental health of humans, but also the physical health by lowering blood pressures, raising oxytocin levels, and using eye contact as a form of communication between the two species whether their just a pet or a therapy dog.
All modern dogs are believed to have descended from the Eurasian grey wolf, one subspecies that began interacting with humans between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago. The wolves likely foraged around human campsites, gradually growing less inhibited. Once their potential as companions and workmates became apparent, they were domesticated and selectively bred. (“Prehistoric Relationships” 1)
Somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, the wolf had evolved into an animal genetically indistinguishable
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from the modern dog. Although today's dog resembles more of its ancient ancestor than to the modern wolf, most specific dog breeds have genetics that go back only about 200 years. "It's a very compelling study, that even on a chemical basis we get this kind of biological impulse to bond, and animals have the same impulse to bond with us," says University of Alberta anthropologist Robert Losey, who studies the historical relationship between dogs and humans. One of Losey's projects involves the excavation of dog remains between 5,000 and 8,000 years old at Lake Baikal, Siberia. The research made it evident that dogs were buried alongside humans in cemeteries, showing not only to some of the earliest evidence of dog domestication but also suggesting dogs were respected at nearly the same level that humans were. "The dogs were being treated just like people when they died," says Losey. "They were being carefully placed in a grave, some of them wearing decorative collars, or next to other items like spoons, with the idea being potentially that they had souls and an afterlife." (McMaster 2) In one case a man was found buried in the same grave as his two dogs with one on each side. "Globally you can see that there are more dog burials in prehistory than any other animals, including cats or horses. Dogs seem to have a very special place in human communities in the past. As soon as we see skeletal remains that look like the modern dog—say 14,000 years ago—we see dogs being buried.” says Losey, on the topic of respecting and the treatment of dogs. (Prehistoric Relations” 2) "Early on there's evidence to suggest people loved and cared for their dogs in much the same way we do now, but they were also working companions, involved in all of our daily tasks," Losey quoted. Evidence has been found that supports dogs and humans living together as far back as 13,000 years. Initially, packs of wolves would follow humans, looking for food scraps. At some point the friendlier wolves approached the humans, who in turn took them in as companions. The bond was mutually beneficial in that humans could provide shelter and protection, and wolves would help retrieve the humans food. Friendly wolves were bred with other friendly wolves, to eventually become dogs. Dogs evolved alongside humans, so they are able to connect with us on a deeper level than most animals today, as found in Emory University’s research (Johnson 1). The university’s research has found that looking into a dog’s eyes leads to the same hormonal response as a human to their child. Scientists at Azabu University in Japan brought in 30 dog owners and a few wolf owners for an experiment where owners were asked to stare into the eyes of the animals for a set period of time, with urine samples collected from all dogs and humans before and after the study. The study concluded that dogs who stared the longest into their owner’s eyes experienced a 130 percent rise in oxytocin levels, with the owners experiencing a 300 percent rise in oxytocin. Oxytocin is a hormone released by the pituitary gland that causes increased contraction of the uterus during labor and stimulates the ejection of milk into the ducts of the breasts (Johnson 3). None of the wolf-owners experienced an increase in oxytocin. Johnson says it may also have longer-term health benefits.
"Oxytocin has powerful effects in the body's ability to be in a state of readiness to heal, and also to grow new cells, so it predisposes us to an environment in our own bodies where we can be healthier." (Johnson 3)
More than 2,300 reading education assistance dogs around the country are helping children to improve their literacy skills just by simply being present. Children who are uncomfortable reading out loud to people are able to practice with a nonjudgmental dog, and are more likely to practice words they do not recognize. In one study, children who read to dogs over the course of 10 weeks showed a 12 percent improvement in reading skills, while those who did not read to a dog showed no improvement. (Johnson 3)
Dogs can have a huge impact on the development of children, both physically and mentally. A 2012 report in the journal Pediatrics states that children who grow up in a home with a pet are less likely to get sick than children who live without pets (Johnson 3). Researchers believe that by exposing children to pet dander and other germs brought in from outside, children’s immune systems improve early in development. This early exposure helps immune systems fend off illness later on in
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life. Another study found that children who owned a dog were more empathetic and social compared to children who grew up without a dog in the house. Children also showed higher levels of positivity about their home and family when they had a strong bond with the dog. Children can benefit from the love given and received by four-legged family members who provide unconditional comfort (Meyer 3). Scientists have a good idea how dogs became domesticated, but to really mend themselves in human society, Kikusui believes dogs used their eye contact to win over the hearts and minds of those early humans. Studies have shown that dogs likely evolved from wolves about 15,000 years ago in Europe, though previous studies have put that date further back to around 30,000 years ago (Casey 1). Takefumi Kikusui, an animal behaviorist at Azabu University in Japan, carried out a series of experiments that examined the impact of the gaze in the dogs and their owners and found that those puppy dog eyes are even more meaningful than we thought. "Our data suggest that owner-dog bonding is comparable to human parent-infant bonding, that is, oxytocin-mediated eye-gaze bonding," Kikusui said. "And this is surprising to us because there is not a reproductive relationship between human and dogs, but both of them have acquired similar skills." says Kikasuki (Casey 2). Oxytocin is a hormone associated with trust and maternal bonding. Oxytocin levels increase when you're close to someone you love and gives you that warm fuzzy feeling. Researchers found that when owner's and their dogs stared into one another's eyes during a 30 minute period, levels of oxytocin, that were measured in their urine, increased in both the humans and the dogs. And when oxytocin was administered to dogs, it increased the amount of time that female dogs, but not males, gazed at their owner. Kikusui said he believed the gaze was acquired by dogs as part of their efforts to communicate and form bonds with humans (Casey 3). Kikusui didn't find the same oxytocin response in wolves and their owners. "These results suggest that wolves do not use mutual gaze as a form of social communication with humans, which might be expected because wolves tend to use eye contact as a threat," the researchers wrote. (Casey 6) Dogs are known to be especially good at reading their owners moods and that they exhibit a trait known as gaze following, essentially following the actions of humans, much as an infant or child might do (Casey 3).
"There have been some fun studies showing that, indeed, we respond to our dogs quite a bit like human children," MacLean said. "One of my favorite ones was a recent brain imaging study that looked at mothers who were being shown pictures either of their own child or somebody else's child and their own dog or somebody else's dog. What the researchers found in this study is that there were brain networks in mothers who responded very similarly when they saw pictures of their own child or their own dog but didn't have that response from looking at someone else's child or somebody else's dog." (Casey 3)
MacLean said he felt the Japanese study reinforces the idea that the human-dog relationship is like a parent-child relationship and could help explain the genetical means that are associated with the use of dogs in therapy to help everything from autism to post traumatic stress. "If it turns out there are benefits of administering oxytocin for some of these disabilities, using assistance dogs may actually be a fairly natural way to stimulate the system," MacLean said. "There may be some sort of medicinal properties of our interaction with dogs that we could use." (Casey
4) According to a 2015 Harris poll, 95% of owners think of their animal as a member of the family, and it is a two way street. People who have pets tend to have lower blood pressure, heart rate and heart-disease risk than those who don’t. Those health boons may come from the extra exercise that playing and walking require, and the stress relief of having a best friend on hand. “Whether it is pet ownership that gives us cause to exercise, offers an antidote for loneliness, and gives us loving companions to care for, or animal-assisted interventions that improve motivation to participate in treatment and lessen worry, anxiety, and pain, we recognize that animals can influence not just our happiness but also our health.” (Pet Partners 1) “It’s also possible—and very likely,” says senior author Tove Fall, a veterinarian —”that taking care of a dog prompts people to stay active and live a healthier lifestyle. I have met numerous owners that are convinced that their pet has been instrumental for them, often in terms of social support. As a dog owner, I also notice that the people I meet during walks are often other dog owners, especially in bad weather.” (Bellevue 1) Dogs can cure and relieve a lot of tensions beneath the skin that are caused by stress and or anxiety, yet researchers say dogs are the most effective when it comes to helping heal the mind. “The bond between man and dog is something that can really cure a lot of emptiness,” says Stephen Knight of Dallas, Texas. “I'm a recovering addict, six years clean and sober,” says Knight. “I did work in non-profits and social services but went into addiction hard core and ended up homeless, living out of my car, and lost everything in life that matters. Getting a dog eight months into recovery changed my life. There's a lot of voids that you fill with drinking and drugs. Dogs can replace that with their love” says Knight (Bellevue 1). Johnson says it may also have longer-term human health benefits. "Oxytocin has some powerful effects for us in the body's ability to be in a state of readiness to heal, and also to grow new cells, so it predisposes us to an environment in our own bodies where we can be healthier." As evidenced by Emory University’s research, dogs have an effect on human oxytocin levels. Oxytocin increases are beneficial for both humans and dogs in order for both species to be content with their form of life and the world around them. Dogs have the ability to lower human blood pressure by reducing the amount of stress on their owner and possible decreasing anxiety in their companion. Lowering blood pressures ensures that humans are capable of living longer and living happily. As seen in the research on dogs with children, children are shown to benefit from this relationship just as adults. Children have higher reading rates, stronger immune systems, and are more social compared to children that grow up without a pet. In conclusion, research has proven that those who associate themselves with pets, in particular dogs, live a happier, healthier, and more efficient life than those who do not.
A wolf pack is, at its foundation, simply a family, with the parents (alphas) guiding the activities of the group. Hence, it is easy to believe that dogs are able to bond with human families, especially when the alphas are already parents. The parents view the dog as one of their children, one who remains dependent and will never leave or criticize them (Rogers 1), and in the same manner, the dog views the human parents as if they were his actual parents and as a result, loves and trusts them with his life gladly following them, not once questioning their decisions or actions. For these reasons, humans have found release in the company of dogs because dogs do not judge. By way of example, Sigmund Freud was notably a bad singer and as a result, never sang in public, however he often hummed an aria while petting his dog (Rogers 2). In the presence of dogs, our need to self-censor our words and actions vanishes (Rogers 2). Ultimately, dogs and human beings are able to form such strong emotional bonds through love and
The dog is a unique beast. Loyal and affectionate, if somewhat bizarrely built, today’s dogs are a far cry from the wild wolves from which they emerged. Whether fluffy, naked, cock-eyed, or bow-legged, each dog is an ample prototype of its kind. The very idea that such a cooperative creature could spring forth from such a ruthless predator is astounding by itself. The fact that the multitude of breeds (340, according to the World Canine Organization (Melina, 2014)) could starburst forth from a single point begs investigation. How, indeed, did it come to be that there are so many different breeds of dog?
Our old pals, even going back to Canis lupus, the gray wolf (the original ancestor of most modern dogs), have human-like qualities. Wolves are clever hunters and gatherers, especially the gray wolf. No speci...
Several studies have examined the effects of dog ownership on people's physical and mental health. Dog ownership produces considerable health benefit and provides social support that encourages dog owners to walk (Cutt et al.2007 ). Pet owners appear to have lower systolic blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels(Anderson et al 1992). Pet owners with serious mental illness living in the community demonstrate higher social community integration(Zimalog and Krupa 2009). Socially excluded participants who performed in the presence of a dog report higher mental well-being compared with socially excluded participants who did not work in the presence of a dog (Nilüfer et al 2012). Although there is evidence suggesting that dog ownership can improve people's physical and mental health, there is little research documenting the psychological and behavioral effects of dog-assisted therapy, especially on elderly patients with dementia, who have dif...
There are many theories’ that dog got evolved by the grey wolf but current resources say that dogs. The PLoS (is an open access peer-reviewed academic journal published monthly by PLOS Genetics) say that dogs may have not evolved by the grey wolf or least not the grey wolfs that we have living up in our northern forest. One possibility is there may have been other wolf lineages that these dogs diverged from that, then went extinct. But there
Most people are familiar with service dogs and have seen them in action. Animal-assisted therapy is similar service animals in that an animal-human healing partnership is being created. However, the difference is that therapy pets are typically used to treat a mental disability whereas people with physical disabilities use service dogs to help them in many ways. Therapy animals are used in a wide variety of places, such as, hospitals, prisons, nursing homes, therapy sessions, mental healthcare facilities, and even in people’s homes. These amazing animals are used on a wide variety of different disorders, but they are utilized mostly by people suffering from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. For people with these mental health disorders, everything in live can be difficult and challenging, however with the help of animal-assisted therapy, their mood, motivation, and life can dramatically improve. Anyone who hears about these brave, loving animals soon falls in love with them. From a medical standpoint, there have been many successful studies and the support for animal-assisted therapy still continues to grow in doctors and therapists across the nation.
The grey wolf has been transformed into what we, today, call a dog. After years of traveling with humans, the wolf began to change and became adapted and tame enough to socialize with humans. The environment it was placed into was one of the causes for change, and another was the role it played for humans.
Almost all the families that own dogs treat them like a part of the family. In the story How the Dog Became Part of the Family, it stated "According to a 2015 survey by the Harris Poll, ninety six percent of owners consider their dogs to be a part of the family." Since the dogs get special treatment from their owners they will do things for them, like encroachment foxes, clean out rats from somewhere, hunt ducks, and also even pull sleds on snowy days. Dogs can be malign gard dogs for people that treat them like kinfolks. The dogs and humans can have a very special bond. "When a dog and a human gaze in each others eye a chemical is released that causes the dog and human to feel adjacent." For example, in the story How the Dog Became Part of the Family, it states that, "The Harris Poll found that 38 percent of U.S. dog owners cook special meals for their dogs," Another thing is walking a dog a lot can improve people's health and can cause less accentuation. Less accentuation causes a better day and it is helpful to kids with autism. When dos get walked it makes you and the dog feel
The video “Dogs and More Dogs” presents one of the most perplexing questions in evolutionary biology: how did the diversity of dogs evolve from a relatively homogeneous population of wolves. Anthropological data suggests that dogs came into existence some fifteen thousand years ago. In terms of the history of earth and the majority of the organisms that inhibit it, dogs are still very young. It is thus very remarkable that one species (wolves), which must have looked somewhat alike, could have given rise to the huge differences we see between the Chihuahua and the Golden Retriever.
In the field of therapy, there are numerous of therapy available out there for different type of individuals and situations as well. There is one type of therapy that usually contains people and animal, it is animal-assisted therapy is a therapeutic approach that brings animals and individuals with physical and/or emotional needs together to perform the therapy. Animal-assisted therapy tend to be focused on individuals either children or elderly for them to be able to connect with the animal thus feeling comfortable talking with the therapist. Pet therapy works for all ages, whether sick or not (Lanchnit, 2011). Although, this paper, most of the focus is on animal-assisted therapy towards children using dogs.
Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), which can be provided in a group or individual settings, is designed to promote improvement in a human’s physical, social, emotional, or cognitive function. An article by Chitic, Rusu, and Szamoskozi (2012) provides an analysis in order to determine the value of AAT. Both dogs and horses that were trained for AAT were examined and studied to determine their effectiveness in treating patients with psychological disorders. The results showed that both therapy dogs and horses were valuable aids to the therapeutic process. The analysis suggests that proper training and repeated sessions were necessary for proper treatment of patients. In addition, certain disorders may benefit more than others in regards to AAT. For example, a child with ADHD may not benefit from a therapy dog’s presence, for it may worsen the hyperactive symptoms. On the other hand, a patient with depression may benefit greatly from the same animal (Chitic, Rusu, Szamoskozi, 2012). These findings are a perfect starting point to answering the research question: Do patients who engage in AAT display a betterment in their overall emotional well-being, as well as show improvement in their interpersonal interactions...
The scientific paper “Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds” presents the theory that an oxytocin-mediated positive loop that is mediated by gaze exists between humans and dogs, and was coevolved in both species in order to facilitate human-dog bonding. It tests that theory via the performance of two experiments; in the first experiment, they examined whether a dog’s gazing behavior had any effect on the urinary oxytocin concentrations in dogs and their owners during a 30 minute interaction, and also examined hand raised wolves and their trainers in order to test whether any findings were due to possible coevolution, or if it was due to early life experiences with humans. The results of that experiment showed that dogs and humans in the long gaze group showed a significant increase in urinary oxytocin levels and the largest change ratio with oxytocin while the wolves and their handlers showed no increase for either group.
Owning a pet can have many physical and mental health benefits. Medical studies show having a pet result's in lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and triglyceride levels. Pets have a role in cardiovascular health from lowering blood pressure, and they encourage psychosocial stability in owners, which further reduces the risk of heart disease. In the hectic and fast-paced world we live in today, pets are actually saving our lives. Pets provide an excuse to be active, dogs live an active lifestyle, wanting to play and run around outside. By making us more active and improving our health, dogs often provide a good workout! Instead of sitting on the couch being lazy, dogs are eager to transfer their energy and enthusiasm to the owner benefiting both dog and owner in many ways. Studies show that dogs demonstrate trust and provide comfort to the sick or elderly thus helping people to live longer and to be more positive as they age. Animal owners over 75 years of age have f...
Pets are all over the world, and a part of many people's everyday lives. After seeing my grandmas dog close to death about a week ago, it reminded me of how impacted I was when I lost a pet in the past. That’s when I realized that pets leave a very impactful mark on other people's lives. Then, I remembered not everyone has had pets in their lives due to various reasons like allergies and seeing them as dangerous. This led me to my research question; Should kids have pets in their lives? Weighing the options, I can see both sides to the question at hand. I was a child who grew up with pets by my side, but I also had been greatly harmed by one. When I was just a preschooler, I was critically bit by my own dog in the face, just inches away from a fatal vein in my neck. I still have the scar to this day, yet I still surround myself with animals everyday.
The transition to the diet of the original dog as a result of beginning the relationship with humans could be attributed to the changes identified between the modern dog and original dog (wolf). The canids remain recovered in yet cave, in Belgium where Upper Paleolithic artifacts were discovered along with other object are considered to be domesticated dogs. The domestication of dog could have been driven by human need for help with herding, hunting, and early warning while the dog benefited from companionship and reliable source of food