Throughout this entire blog, I have addressed many different aspects of dogs, whether that be their specific breed or their functions in society and even the history and mythology behind the animal. In our society today and even into the distant past, dogs have played a major role in human development and successes as a race. As our race has evolved and advanced over time, so has our benefits that we receive from our furry friends. From working dogs to household companions, dogs play an important role in our society as a whole.

As I previously mentioned in past blog posts, dogs are very popular household pets in the United States and it is very common to see dogs almost anywhere when navigating through our daily lives. Their abilities to learn quickly and follow rules makes them easy to care for and keep track of, as well as to train for other activities outside the home. Some of these activities include health service, police/crisis service, and military dogs, just to name a few.

In comparison to other animals, the natural skills and abilities of dogs are facinating and can prove to be quite helpful when utalized by humans. According to a study documented in The Domestication of Social Cognition in Dogs, there are certain abilties that dogs have a strong advantage in when compared to other animals. For example, when given directions and cues such as pointing or looking towards a direction in indication for the animal to go towards it, dogs respond very quickly and cognitively understand what is being asked of them better than the chimpanzees also being tested.

And these abilities don’t stop there. Dogs have a heightened sense of hearing as compared to a normal human, which gives them the advantage of hearing very quiet noises or sounds from very far away. This trait can be useful when police or military dogs are on the track of finding a missing person or suspect. In short, when certain traits of humans just aren’t enough to get a job done, dogs are there to provide extra support.

Even when we completely disregard the physical service that dogs do for us daily, the emotional support and overall happiness that dogs bring into our everyday lives may be one of the most beneficial assets that they bring to us as a race. They’re nicknamed “Man’s Best Friend” for a good reason. They provide companionship and unconditional love that even some humans fail to provide and as a whole, the species is quite loyal to whom they consider being a part of their “pack”. Dogs can be extremely playful as their adventurous or as loving and calm as their human companions.

No matter if your dog is serving with our troops overseas, competing in speed challenge competitions at a dog show, or just curling up with you on the couch, dogs as a species overall have brought so much happiness into the world we live in. Some dogs help save lives and care for the sick while others share a loving bond with their owners that can never be broken. Emotionally or physically, at home or out and about, there is no question that the positive effects of domesticating dogs so many years ago has completely changed our world for good.

Citations:

American Pet Products Association. “The graph depicts the number of U.S. households that own a pet (in millions).” Franchise Direct. N.p., 4 Oct. 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2016 <http://www.franchisedirect.com/petfranchises/petfranchiseindustryoverview/18/286>.

Hare, Brian et al.. “The Domestication of Social Cognition in Dogs”. Science 298.5598 (2002): 1634–1636. Web…

Larson, Greger et al.. “Rethinking Dog Domestication by Integrating Genetics, Archeology, and Biogeography”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109.23 (2012): 8878–8883. Web…