Man and dog – bonding and evolution

Science from April 17, this year, has two feature articles by David Grimm about men and his dog, one perspective article and a report that shows how men-dog but not men-wolf bonding is intensifierd by oxytocin.

One feature article: Dawn of the dog is most instructive about the process in science itself, fighting over data, sparring with opponents, and reconsiliation to a common task with the help of a third party, the other one: How the wolf became a dog is summarizing the different text, the perspective paper by MacLean and Hare shows the implications of the report: How the oxytozin loop between men and dog might shape the bonding and even help in pathological situation like autism and posttraumatic stress. A nice sentence from the feature is “if the dog is staring at you, it might not be after your sandwich!”

The whole bunch of articles is a pleasue to read.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *