Dogs really may be man’s best friend—ranking even higher than our fellow humans in empathy. British researchers put pet dogs of different ages and breeds in a room with their owners or a stranger. Then they had the people either hum, talk, or pretend to cry. They found that the dogs responded most strongly to people who cried, submissively nuzzling and licking the crier—the canine version of offering comfort—whether they knew the person or not.(click below to read more)
Dogs did not respond to the humming, even though researchers thought that the unusual sound “might be likely to pique the dogs’ curiosity,” study author Deborah Custance of the University of London tells DailyMail.co.uk. She says the dogs’ behavior shows how highly attuned they are to human emotions owing to thousands of years of evolution. The better a dog responds to human emotion, the more likely we are to give the animal food and shelter—and ensure that the pet’s genes are passed on to the next generation. “We have selectively bred them to act as our companions,” Custance says.
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