It’s all in the eyes!
Photo via esbtrib.com
You know that wonderful feeling of connection that you get gazing into your dog’s eyes, the one that makes you love him or her even more than usual? Well scientists have pinpointed the cause for this warm, fuzzy feeling:
Truth be told, the more that dog proprietors and their canine buddies look into each other’s eyes, the more focused the blast of oxytocin both human and canine created, Japanese analysts found. What’s more, the more we people give back a pet’s look and the more prominent the subsequent surge of oxytocin, the more we accept that our own is the best dog in the entire world. (Yes, she is…)
This is a fascinating read and suggests that both dog and owner benefit (evolutionarily speaking) from this gaze-focused chemical response.