Dog lovers all know the ability of a dog to communicate with its eyes. Now, scientific research suggests this ability developed over time as dogs learned to live with humans.
The study compared the facial muscles of dogs and wolves, which share ancestral history. Dogs broke off from wolves after being domesticated about 33,000 years ago. During that time, dogs changed physically and behaviorally to fit life with humans. The researchers examined the heads of six dogs and two wolves for comparison. They found the facial structure of both animals was mostly very similar. But one major difference was found above the eyes. The dogs were found to have two well-formed muscles around the eye that were not present in the wolves. These small muscles permit dogs to “intensely” raise their inner eyebrow, the study found.
In a separate part of the study, the researchers observed how twenty-seven dogs and nine wolves interacted with humans. “When exposed to a human for two minutes, dogs raised their inner eyebrows more and at higher intensities than wolves,” comparative psychologist Juliane Kaminski from Britain’s University of Portsmouth, who led the research, said.
The researchers suggest that the eye movements developed over time as a way for dogs to get humans to do things for them. This could involve humans giving them food, care or attention. Brian Hare, from America’s Duke University, edited the study. He called the findings “profound” for showing that these muscles likely developed to help in their interactions with people. “The proof has been in their puppy dog eyes all this time,” Hare said.
本时文由奇速英语国际教育研究院提供，未经书面授权，禁止复制和任何商业用途， 版权所有，侵权必究！（作者投稿及时文阅读定制请联系微信：400-1000-028）
13980503458
13980503458
admin@qisuen.cn
