Dogs and kids not all that different, study finds
January 10, 2012
Jill Rosen
THE BALTIMORE SUN
You know that feeling when someone compares dealing with their dog to dealing with a baby and all the parents in the room give them the stink eye?
Well, the comparison might hold water after all.
According to a study by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, published in the journal Current Biology, when people talk to their dogs, the reaction of the pup is similar to that of a baby.
Jozsef Topal, of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, told U.K.’s The Telegraph that increasing evidence shows humans and dogs share social skills — and that the cognitive function of dogs resembles babies ranging from 6 months to 2 years old.
The researcher also told the paper that dogs appear to react to eye contact — as do babies.
During the study, researchers presented dogs with video recordings of a person turning toward one of two identical plastic pots while an eye tracker captured information on the dogs’ reactions, The Telegraph reported. In one instance, the person looked directly at the dog, addressing it with a high-pitched voice, saying “Hi dog!” Next, someone, speaking low and avoiding eye contact, said, “Hi dog.”
The upshot? Dogs were more inclined to follow the person and look at the pot when the person was more engaging.
“Our findings reveal that dogs are receptive to human communication in a manner that was previously attributed only to human infants,” Topal said.