If you ask what pets are more humane? Different people may have different answers. Some people think it is a dog, while others think it is a cat. In fact, “humanity” is a very vague concept, because there is no quantitative standard. If measured by “IQ”, primates such as orangutans and monkeys will undoubtedly have the advantage.
But I think dogs are the most human pets, at least judging from the results of some scientific studies that are currently known, this is the case.
The dog’s IQ is not low
First of all, the IQ of dogs is not low, they are smarter than cats. Measuring IQ is actually a very complicated thing, and the measuring method is constantly improving in development.
In the past, people liked to allow animals to complete prescribed actions to judge their intelligence. Later, it developed to measure the size and structure of the brain. At present, it is recognized that the most scientific method is to measure the number of neurons in the brain. Neurons are the units for processing information. The larger the number, the stronger the processing ability for information, that is, the higher the cognitive ability, which is what we often call smarter.
Although this method cannot be said to be 100% accurate, and perhaps this method will be eliminated with the development of science in the future, for now, this method is the most effective.
The number of neurons in the human cerebral cortex is about 16 billion, and the number of neurons in the cerebral cortex of chimpanzees is about 6 billion, so it is a very smart animal.
Some scientists in the United States and Denmark have done an experiment. They used advanced scientific methods to measure the number of neurons in the brains of some animals. They found that the average number of neurons in the cerebral cortex of dogs is 528 million, while that of cats is only 250 million. , Which shows that dogs are much smarter than cats. The Golden Retriever is worthy of being the “IQ” of dogs. The number of neurons in its cerebral cortex has reached 627 million.
The results of the experiment are basically consistent with the actual phenomenon, because many tasks that require animal participation are basically undertaken by dogs, such as army dogs, drug detection dogs, search and rescue dogs, guide dogs, etc., they have very strong The ability to withstand stress and adaptability to the outside world, and at the same time he is very focused when dealing with tasks, and almost all of these must be based on “high IQ”.
Dogs have a strong ability to understand
“Humanity” is often expressed as “obedient”. If a pet can read the owner’s instructions, the more it will be considered human. In this respect, dogs are undoubtedly among the best.
India has the largest number of stray dogs in the world, about 30 million. Some of these stray dogs are abandoned by humans, some are out of human control, and more are second or even several generations of stray dogs, that is, they Stray dogs born by free mating that have not been reared in captivity. Based on this condition, a study was launched in India.
The researcher placed two bowls upside down on the streets of India. One of them had food underneath and the other did not. Then they used some special methods to make the two bowls exude the taste of food. Then the researchers found 160 stray dogs, and then pointed their fingers to one of the bowls to record the reactions of these stray dogs.
It was found that about 80% of dogs would follow people’s instructions, but if the researchers pointed to the empty bowl many times, the stray dogs would not follow the instructions too much after they were found to be fooled. This experiment shows that even dogs that have not been trained or even raised by people are born with a strong ability to understand.
Researchers in Japan have also done an experiment on dogs and found that when the owner yawns, the pet dogs around him will follow. If the owner pretends to be yawning, the number of times the dog next to him yawns is significantly reduced. The results of the experiment It shows that dogs seem to be able to read human emotions, and empathy is also a very important reference factor for “humanity”.
Dogs are born with affinity
Since early humans domesticated some Pleistocene gray wolves into dogs, they have undergone tens of thousands of years of artificial selection and breeding. Nowadays, dogs are far from wolves. The process from wolf to dog seems to be simple selection. , In fact, they are modified on the “gene” level.
In the long process of companionship with humans, dogs seem to have appeared in the phenomenon of convergence and evolution. For example, in the process of developing from a tribal nomadic lifestyle to urban clusters, ferocious dogs do not have the advantage of survival, so they will After being eliminated by acceleration, most of the rest are docile, non-biting, and can get along with humans better.
I believe that I am not the only one who thinks that the look in the eyes of dogs is much gentler than that of wolves. This is not an illusion, but a “be careful” of dogs. British scientists have done an experiment to dissect the facial structures of dogs and gray wolves separately, and found that the external muscles of the canthus of the dog’s eyes are larger than those of the gray wolf. This allows the dog’s eyes to become larger and reveal more whites of the eyes. It looks cuter and gentler.
In addition, gray wolves do not lift the inner muscles of the eye corners, while dogs do, which allows dogs to move their eyebrows, but wolves cannot. Moving eyebrows is a “big move”. Just imagine, if a dog raises its eyebrows and looks at you with wide eyes, will it be “sprouting”?
Dog’s choice
There are 5 characteristics for assessing the personality of a person, namely: affinity, openness, extroversion, negative emotion, and sense of responsibility. There are also 5 characteristics for assessing the personality of a dog, namely: excitement, fear, and aggressiveness towards animals. , Aggressiveness to people, reaction to training.
Studies have found that when dogs choose their pet dogs, they are also more inclined to choose dogs that are “similar” to them, not only in terms of appearance, but also in terms of personality.
For example, extroverts tend to choose more lively and active dogs, while introverts are more inclined to choose quiet dogs. It is not surprising that they feel that their dog understands themselves with such “close magnetic fields.”
On the whole, dogs have good performances in terms of their ability to understand, their affinity for people, and their interactions with people. Are these not the characteristics of “humanity”? So if you say which kind of pet is more human, I will vote for the dog first. What do you think?
