The Reason Behind the Dog’s Love for Humans

Humans and dogs communicate with each other with a lot better than they think. It all boils down to body language. Humans and dogs interact and understand each other through changing expressions. Humans can easily distinguish the sound, dogs make through their expressions.

This is an important thing. Humans cannot interact with other animals in the same way as they do with dogs. Not even cats come close. The biggest reason may be their abundance. According to an estimate, 70% of the Americans own dogs.

Since the dawn of Humanity, Humans have domesticated a multitude of animals. But the bond we share with dogs is unique. You can say that humans domesticated animals due to their benefits. Dogs were different. They are kept for emotional reasons.

Now we are not saying that dogs don’t have any use besides emotional support. From herding cattle to guarding, they help in several tasks. Some are bred for races and competitions. Others are used for hunting. Despite all this, the bond we share with dogs cannot be found with other pets. For whatever purpose one uses a dog for, ultimately, they both establish an understanding and a relationship.

It cannot be said with authenticity when this relationship started. But it could be estimated that somewhere in the threads of fate, some wolves decided to approach humans and were domesticated. Both wolves and dogs share a nearly identical genome. Only 0.1% of the genetics change a wolf to a dog. This small genetic change coincides with the human gene of sweetness. That may be part of the reason that our mind understands dogs more than other animals.

Perception predicts that such a genetic similarity may not have evolved after their domestication. Humans tend to go towards things they coincide with. A part of wolves coincided with the human’s emotional state then. It could be possible that dogs may have been kept for some utility. That is why they welcomed them among themselves, and they ultimately became dogs.

The beauty of this relationship did not dissolve when humans chose to end their ways of barbaric living. Animals that humans kept during this era were mostly due to utilitarian reasons. Even then we kept our relations with the dogs despite getting little in return.

A study on etymology shows that how our relationship with dogs evolved. All the words we use for dogs represent an affectionate relation. French originated word ‘puppy’ indicates an affectionate doll. Even our history is populated with dogs. Several folk stories are centered around dogs. Astonishingly they don’t differ much around the world. From Europe to Asia, dogs are looked at with an affectionate view.

Currently, dogs are the most renowned pet on planet Earth. They have a global population of 900 million. They have been bred in several sub-types. Some for their beauty, others for their tasks.

No one can say that Humans and dogs have a symbiotic relation nowadays. Despite annual upkeep of more than $1500, most of the people choose to keep dogs. Some people love their dogs to the extent that they even endangered their own lives to save their dogs. People who help evacuate areas during Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Harvey know how some people refused due to their dogs.

Our whole affair with the dogs may not make sense looking at it logically but affection rarely relies on logic. It would not be false to say that our relationship with the dogs have evolved to something greater than we can understand. Maybe that is the reason why dogs and humans have an exceptional understanding among them.