So, after a lot of thinking, I decided to do my creative research essay on dogs. I decided to do it on dogs because as much as I love and admire them, there’s so much about them I still don’t understand. For example, when did dog’s become pets, do they make good pets, is there any benefits of owning them, are they friendly, are they easy to communicate with, and should you even own one? A lot of these questions could easily be researched, yet people don’t research them too often. So I decided to do the “dirty” work, and find out all there is to know about dogs and being a dog owner.
To start, how did dogs become so popular as pets? It all started about 27,000 – 40,000 years ago. According to Greger Larson, in an article “The History of Dogs as Pets” on ABC News, Mankind started to domesticate wolves somewhere in western Eurasia and somewhere in the East at the same time. Wolves started to grow fond of human camps because they’d get to scavenge for leftover food. While it’s uncertain as to whether man approached dog or vice versa, there is no doubt that a bond between the two species quickly sparked and lead to generations of dog owners. According to “The History of Dogs,” on animalfreedom.org, the two species had profited from their relationship with each other. Wolves would help humans hunt, keep flocks together, and warn humans when enemies are approaching. In return, humans kept their wolves well fed, groomed, and comforted. To help better understand, imagine you’re living in that time era. You have your camp, and the safety of you and your camp means a lot to you. However, it’s a time where many dangerous animals are lurking around for prey and your camp, with all of its noise and fire, is a sight for sore eyes. To protect this safe haven of yours, would you not do whatever it takes? So you do the unthinkable. One of those animals that are out there trying to kill you, you befriend them. You accept them into your camp and treat them like an honorable member, in return you get the security you need to keep that camp and all who dwell in it safe. Animalfreedom.org also explains how wolves are very social creatures. Similar to humans, wolves live in groups called packs and even have social ranks. This made the animal suitable and attractive as a companion, because wolves would accept humans as their leaders. After many years of this relationship, wolves began to change and adapt into the loveable creatures we all know about today, dogs.
So it’s clear that back in the day wolves were convenient to own as pets, but do dogs today make for a good pet? For the majority of dog owners, their dogs don’t exactly help hunt, keep flocks together, or warn them if enemies are approaching. So I began to research the relevance of dogs today, and according to “Why Dogs Make Good Pets,” by Chris Miken, dogs have much to offer. Compared to most other pet options, dogs really do love to be around humans as much as humans love to be around them. They’ll do anything you want them to and be the happiest pup on the planet doing so. They have a natural tendency to want to please their owners, and their friendly attitude goes a long way in helping them succeed. With my experiences of owning a dog, there’d be many instances where it’s the middle of the day, I’m home alone, super bored, looking for something to do, and all of my friends are busy. All I want to do is to get out of the house, but it would be so boring and lame if I went out on my own. Luckily, I have my dog with me, and so we start getting ready to leave the house and go play. Because I had my dog in this instance, not only did I have a friend to go outside with, but now I had a legitimate reason to get out of the house and do something. Because of this, some might see dogs as great pets to have for companionship and their friendliness. Dogs are kind, loving, fun, protective, and will never make for bad company. I know that with my experiences, I saw these benefits first-hand.
Being a dog owner isn’t necessarily easy, so you might ask yourself “what am I getting out of all this?” We saw that they could make for good company, but after more research I’ve learned that there could be many health benefits that come from owning a dog as well. According to a printed article, “Quantifying the benefits of Owning a Dog,” by Roni Rabin, dogs keep their humans’ active and if you walk your dog at least once a day, you’ve got “20 percent more physical activity than people without dogs.” This article further explain how regular exercise has well-known benefits for health and longevity. Also, going back to Chris Miken and his article, pets can lower blood pressure and stress levels. This is extremely beneficial for humans because again, it’ll help your overall health and keep you alive longer. When I used to have my dog Jett, I would take him on short little walks around our neighborhood pretty frequently thinking I was helping him and his health. Now, after researching this, I can’t help but wonder what all those years of walking also did for my health.
So now we know that dogs make for a good pet and that there are some good benefits that come along with them, but are they truly friendly? According to a printed article, “Why are Dogs So Friendly? The Answer May Be in 2 Genes,” by James Gorman, dogs have actual genetics that make them friendlier. Research shows that it’s those same genes that are most likely responsible to have caused their transition from wolves to dogs. Dogs are usually friendly by nature. Most dog’s will come up to you and try to love on you no matter what. I find this feature about dogs so admirable mainly because I don’t see this in too many other pets and I’ve had all kinds of pets such as cats, lizards, bunnies, and more. However, that’s just from my experiences and I’m sure there are many other people who would argue otherwise about their non-dog pets. From my research though, it is interesting to see that dog’s have a certain gene that makes them naturally friendly. I guess you could say the proof is in the pudding, or the friendly genes are in the dog?
While all this is true, I was still curious as to the communication problems there might be with owning a dog, like will a dog be able to understand you and vice versa? It may not be easy at first, but absolutely. According to a printed article, “Dogs Pay Attention to Your Looks,” by Karen Weintraub, dogs monitor human facial expressions and will act accordingly. Dogs even make their own facial expressions, and it’s believed that they sometimes do it to manipulate their humans to get what they want! While that is devious, I don’t think that makes them evil. According to the same article, “researchers in Britain monitored dogs’ facial expressions — particularly the muscle that raises the inner part of the eyebrows and makes their eyes look bigger — while a person was either paying attention to them or turned away, sometimes holding food and sometimes not. The dogs were much more expressive when the person was paying attention, but food didn’t seem to make a difference, according to the study, published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. The dogs also stuck out their tongues and barked more when they got attention, compared with when they were being ignored or given food.” So all dogs really want is attention, and they will communicate just fine with their owners to let them know. They will also read facial expressions such as sadness and anger and will know whether or not to comfort you or hide.
Now after reviewing all this information, one might even be considering if they should get a dog. Well, that’s entirely up to you. Some, for obvious reasons such as allergies or phobias, cannot own a dog and that’s okay because there are many other pet options that might be more suitable for them. However, those who can own a dog now know that there is some good research to help them when considering on getting one, and I’ve personally seen these with experiences with owning a dog. I also stumbled upon some more research in an article called, “ 9 Science-Backed Reasons to Own a Dog,” by Jessica Orwig, and it suggests 9 possible reasons that might make one want to consider owning a dog. (1) Dogs make us laugh; (2) Dogs are loyal; (3) We’re more social with dogs; (4) Dogs keep us healthy; (5) We’re more active with dogs; (6) Dogs save lives; (7) Dogs give us a sense of purpose; (8) Dogs give us confidence; (9) Dogs genuinely make us happy.
So as you can see, there is a lot to know about dog’s that you might not have known about before. Whether or not you care for owning a dog, these researched facts are worth looking into, because almost half of the entire American population owns at least one dog. Dog’s aren’t for everyone, and they should definitely be well researched before attempting to get one. However, if you do get a dog, I believe you’re in for the experience of a life time.
