"Archaeological evidence indicates that dogs were already a part of human society around the end of the Ice Age. Small dog skeletons have been unearthed in human communities as far back as 6- to 12-thousand years ago in Europe, the Middle East, and China. The jawbone of a domestic dog was found in a late Paleolithic grave in Germany, and dated to around 14 thousand years ago. And there is the famous site at Ein Mallaha (Eynan, in Hebrew), in Northern Israel where an elderly human and a 4-5 month old puppy were buried together, 10- to 12-thousand years ago."
The person's left hand is placed on the body of a 4-5 month old puppy.
Well, well Oxytocin answers why dogs have so much effect on us.
"Fifty-five human dog owners participated in this experiment, and all answered a brief questionnaire regarding their relationship with their dogs.
Experimental condition: First the owner pees into a cup. Then they play with their dogs for half an hour. Then they pee into a cup again. Control condition: First the owner pees into a cup. Then they are made to sit facing a wall, and not interact with their dogs for half an hour. Then they pee into a cup again.
Then the experimental group was split in half on the basis of how long their dogs looked at them while playing. There was a strong correlation between gaze duration and the strength of the relationship, as assessed by the questionnaire.
And guess what? Those in the experimental group who had stronger relationships with their dogs also had more oxytocin in their urine, compared with the other group, who reported weaker relationships with their dogs! So the initial hypothesis, that the human-dog relationship emerges out of a mechanism initially designed to stimulate and maintain the parent-child relationship, may indeed be supported!"
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