Puppies

Puppies

Is the ability to socialize something puppies learn as they grow up and live with us, or has it become engraved into their genes after millenials of being our favourite companion?

According to a new study published in the journal, Current Biology, the ability to interact with humans is an innate trait. For example, up to 40 per cent of a puppies ability to communicate with humans lies in their genes.

"The findings indicate that dogs are biologically prepared to communicate with humans," said Emily Bray of the University of Arizona, according to Scimex.org.

Even better service dogs in the future

The researchers studied 375 puppies at eight weeks old. They examined their ability to respond to human signals without prior training, and the results surprised the researchers.

Even before the puppies had left their litter to live with their owners, most of them could find hidden food due to a human pointing them in the right direction.

It might not be a surprise that dogs are programmed to interact with humans. But the confirming findings are still useful. For example, among other things, they can teach us more about why canines have such great potential at becoming successful in serving us as service dogs.

- From an early age, puppies show human-like social abilities deriving from genetic components. This means that these abilities have the potential to undergo selection, says Bray.

Can teach us more about the history of dogs

The research may also contribute to a better understanding of how puppies got domesticated many thousands of years ago.

– Our findings may point to an essential point in the history of domestication. We, the human race, may have selected animals from the wolf population with a higher probability of communicating with our species, which led to the emergence of dogs.

Now the researchers will try to identify the specific genes that contribute to those abilities. In addition, they will follow up with the participating puppies to see if the early experiments can predict something about each dog's potential to become a skilled service dog. It is often golden retriever puppies that are trained to become service dogs, but there are also a number of other dog breeds that become service dogs.

Golden retriever puppies:

Golden retriever puppies are one of the hottes puppies online. So when Lildog was to make its first introduction video, a golden retriever puppy was of course used in the advertising video. Golden retrievers are one of the world's most popular dogs, precisely because they are so cute when they are puppies.

Cockapoo puppies

When the manager at Lilbit (which makes Lildog) went to acquire a dog, the choice landed on a Cockapoo puppy. The Cockapoo is one of the oldest "designer dogs" that is well documented, which was important for the selection of the dogbreed for our manager. Cockapoo is a mix of cocker spaniel and poodle. You can read about the thoughts our general manager had when they found out which dog suits me. You can follow Nano Cacao, who is pictured above, on his own instagram.

Finnish lapphund puppy

When I went to purchase a dog, the choice ended up being a Finnish Lapphund puppy. You can read more about this wonderful dog breed in the article on the Finnish Lapphund.