I lost track long ago of how many dogs I've shared life with over the years.
Perhaps I should more accurately say how many pooches have had me wrapped around their wagging tails.
During childhood there was frisky Bubbles the beagle. Later were Gretchen and Gigolo the schnauzers. As the years ticked away, and in no particular order, came Rosie and Luke and Allie and Max the golden retrievers. Each left an indelible imprint in my heart and mind. That's the way we humans are about our dogs during the 30,000 or so years we've spent living together.
And the latest research shows that's exactly how they perceive us, their bonded family, above anything else. That may sound a bit like stating the obvious: The sky is often pastel blue or last week's snow was white. Yet I found it interesting that scientists in different institutions are now studying the nature and depth of canine thoughts about how they perceive us as their masters; you know, the ones who feed and pet, shelter and shower them with affection.
For instance, a story by Theresa Fisher on the Science.Mic website says brain-imaging technology shows dogs with human families rely more on us than those of their own kind for protection, affection, protection "and everything in between."
Not much of a surprise there.
But the evidence also shows they become hopelessly devoted to us, often through the powerful connection of their incredibly sensitive sense of smell. Research at Emory University used MRI machines to measure neural responses to the scents of familiar and unfamiliar people and other dogs.
Researchers discovered the smell of a dog's owner specifically triggered the "reward center" in the brain of the dog, said the story: "Of all the wafting smells to take in, dogs actually prioritized the hint of humans over anything ... else."
Way over in Budapest, Hungary, scientists at Eotvos Lorand University examined how dogs' brains reacted to various canine and human noises. Those included barks, voices, grunts, moans and sighs, pretty much every sound the members of each species utter to each other. This was the first study of its kind.
Their findings showed we and our dogs are similar in the ways our brains process emotionally laden vocals, the story continued. That explains why whenever I make happy noises to almost any dog, but especially those I'm closest with, they appear to smile. My soft little whine with a smile prompts an inquisitive head-turn almost every time.
"Happy sounds in particular light up the auditory complex in both species," the scientists reported. "This commonality speaks to the uniquely strong communication system underlying the dog-human bond."
And that means our dogs don't just seem to pick up on our subtle mood changes. They are actually physically wired to pick up on them, Fisher reported.
While it may seem some of these findings are obvious on their face, it is the first time human beings have been able to understand some of the whys behind our inseparable connections.
Attila Andics, who led the the Budapest research, is quoted saying dogs interact with their humans much as infants do with parents. That means they turn to owners when they are worried or injured while other domesticated animals such as horses and cats often will run away.
Although many dogs I know can seem a tad uncomfortable when I stare them in the eyes, often averting their gaze, for the most part they are among the only non-primate animals to look people in the eyes, researchers say. Wolves taken from the wild didn't share this trait.
Let's see now, what else did I find especially interesting about Fisher's story? Oh yeah, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital evaluated activity in the brains of women who'd had both children and dogs for at least two years.
Photos of the dogs and children triggered activity in regions of the women's brains linked to reward, emotion, affiliation and social interaction. Photos of each one generated equal amounts of happiness in those participants.
Experts in this field tend to agree how we err by assuming a dog's facial expression signifies feelings of guilt, since domesticated canines likely don't possess a complex multifaceted notion of self-awareness.
I don't know if I buy that after seeing how sulky and hang-dog some of mine have been after getting in the garbage or leaving deeply personal presents on the carpet. They sure could look and act mighty guilty to this non-researcher graduate from UCA.
Laurie Santos, the lead researcher at Yale's Canine Cognition Center, told Fisher, "Sometimes our intuition about what's going on inside dogs' heads is dead-on, like that dogs are seeking help from us. That's true based on studies, which is different from even their closest relatives, the wolves."
I'm pleased to see science choosing to focus on the hows and whys of our relationship with dogs. Perhaps it will increase our understanding of our undeniable bond of unconditional love.
I should also note, however, that based solely on my own unscientific observations of several YouTube videos I've seen of dogs and my own connections, I feel certain they have levels of complex reasoning and connections with us that exceed anything we know about them, or may ever understand, if we are unwilling to explore the connections that bind us on the metaphysical level.
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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected].
Editorial on 03/08/2015