Why Pet Dogs Are as Good as Kids
Welcome the dog child. Up to 81% of Americans view their pets as family members, and think about their dogs as much as their children. 71% have a photo of their dog in their wallet or phone that they show other people.
There are obvious benefits to having dogs rather than children. Your dog will never slam a door in your face or tell you they hate you. They can be potty trained in eight weeks. They don’t need clothes, a car, or a college education.
In recent years, several discoveries about dogs make kids even less unique. It turns out that dogs are startlingly similar to human infants in several key areas, one of which is in the social domain.
At around nine months, human infants go through a social revolution. They begin to understand what adults are trying to communicate when they point and begin pointing out things to other people. By paying attention to the reactions and gestures of other people, as well as to what other people are paying attention to, infants are beginning to read other people’s intentions. This ability provides a foundation for all forms of culture and communication.
Every dog owner has helped a dog find a lost ball or stick by pointing in the right direction. It’s easy to take for granted the way dogs effortlessly interpret this simple gesture, but this ability is remarkable. Not only do dogs understand the meaning behind the point in a similar way to human infants, they are using the social information of a completely different species.
Soon after infants start reading gestures, they start to learn their first words. Anyone with children knows that toddlers learn words at an astonishing speed, and frequently use words that no one has “taught” them. This is because children learn by using inferences. For example, if you show an infant a red block and a green block, then say “Please give me the chromium block, not the red block,” most infants will give you the green block, despite not knowing that chromium is a shade of
There are obvious benefits to having dogs rather than children. Your dog will never slam a door in your face or tell you they hate you. They can be potty trained in eight weeks. They don’t need clothes, a car, or a college education.
In recent years, several discoveries about dogs make kids even less unique. It turns out that dogs are startlingly similar to human infants in several key areas, one of which is in the social domain.
At around nine months, human infants go through a social revolution. They begin to understand what adults are trying to communicate when they point and begin pointing out things to other people. By paying attention to the reactions and gestures of other people, as well as to what other people are paying attention to, infants are beginning to read other people’s intentions. This ability provides a foundation for all forms of culture and communication.
Every dog owner has helped a dog find a lost ball or stick by pointing in the right direction. It’s easy to take for granted the way dogs effortlessly interpret this simple gesture, but this ability is remarkable. Not only do dogs understand the meaning behind the point in a similar way to human infants, they are using the social information of a completely different species.
Soon after infants start reading gestures, they start to learn their first words. Anyone with children knows that toddlers learn words at an astonishing speed, and frequently use words that no one has “taught” them. This is because children learn by using inferences. For example, if you show an infant a red block and a green block, then say “Please give me the chromium block, not the red block,” most infants will give you the green block, despite not knowing that chromium is a shade of