"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!”—Dave Barry
Once in a while a species joins another species in long term partnership. This happened to the humans with the dog and the house cat. So, a bunch of golden retrievers and border collies are trained to get used to hanging out in a noisy MRI scanner. This enables researchers to do real time brain scans.
It turns out that when your dog is looking at you with that loving expression, it is not just hoping for a treat. All of the same areas of their brains activate in the same brain areas as ours do when we express affection and love, and so on. This is no surprise to most dog lovers. (More about that soulful gaze:)
The really fascinating thing is dogs respond to humans as parent figures, with their doggy brain areas responding to us like human toddlers do with their humans.
That 'my dog is my baby' thing actually goes both ways. On the other hand, dog brains show completely different responses to other dogs. In other findings, they look at our faces more on our left side, corresponding to our emotional state. But they do not do this with other dogs.
I woke up in pain on multiple levels yesterday. I did not get over it until a doggy friend stood up on his hind legs, cocked his head, waved his paws around, and looked deeply into my eyes. I burst into tears, laughing at the same time. I'm sure if I were tested we would find my happy hormone levels shooting up at the same time. At that moment I felt incredible joy and love. It was a true healing.
"I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it."-Abraham Lincoln
"A dog is the only creature on Earth who loves you more than he loves himself."-Josh Billings
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