If you dog looks at you putting little eyes, you’re lost. Whatever he wants, you’ll end up giving it to him, especially if it’s a puppy. The same thing happens with small children. Some of his facial expressions arouse all our tenderness and it becomes almost impossible for us not to give in to his wishes. This coincidence in both species might seem strange, but in reality it is not so strange; since, unconsciously, humans have bred dogs for thousands of years in our image and likeness. This is something that was already known, but now a team of scientists from Duquesne University has shown the physiological explanation for that strategic placement of dog eyes.
Their results, preliminary at the moment, have been presented this week at the experimental biology meeting of the Congress of the American Anatomy Society, which is being held in Philadelphia. There, its main author, Anne Burrowshas explained that the key lies in the predominance of one type of fast twitch muscles what are they behind the facial expressionsboth dogs and humans.
These muscles are related to other movements of the face, such as the smile. However, this study focuses especially on those related to the eyes of dogs. And it is that, along with horses, they are the only non-human animals capable of raising eyebrows. But the horses They don’t know how to make eyes like dogs do. Only our best furry friends have that gift. And it is a gift that we ourselves have given them.
Dogs in the image and likeness of humans
It is believed that the Wolf It was the first animal domesticated by humans. Its selective breeding led to its evolution little by little until it gave rise to a new species. It is not known exactly when this occurred. genetic divergencealthough it is believed that it could have been about 33,000 years ago.
At that time, the wolves went their way and humans continued the domestication of dogs. At the time of raising them, those who had characteristics considered positive. And, perhaps unconsciously, among them was resembling humans. Those dogs whose facial expressions were close to human ones made our ancestors feel more empathy for them, so they preferred them when selecting which animals should reproduce.
In this way, a point was reached where they did not just make eyes. They were also able to fix their gaze on ours. Something that neither horses nor cats do, with which we humans also have a very close loving relationship. could raise eyebrows and offer us that tender look, but how do they get it?
Actually, we have had an answer to this question for years. In 2019, a team of scientists from the University of Portsmouth observed that most dogs have a series of muscles, responsible for raising the eyebrow, that wolves do not have. Of the breeds studied, the Siberian Husky it was the only one that did not have that muscle, and it makes a lot of sense, since it is considered one of the oldest in existence. That would explain why dogs arouse a tenderness that wolves do not. although maybe Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente I wouldn’t have agreed.
Investigating the eyes of our furry friends
This latest research takes over from that of 2019 and analyzes those muscles that differentiate dogs from wolves and make them resemble humans.
These are muscles known as mimetics. They are responsible for facial expressions such as laughter. In humans these muscles are generally formed by fast twitch myosin fibers. They are fibers that, as their name suggests, can contract very quickly, although they also tire very quickly. That’s why we can smile immediately when we are about to be photographed, but if the photographer messes with the camera buttons, the expression on our face ends up looking like anything but a laugh. The same thing happens with the muscles around the eyes.
Instead, there are also slow twitch fiberswhich allow slower movements, but are easier to maintain over time.
When these scientists analyzed samples of the facial musculature of dogs and wolves, they observed that fast-twitch muscles dominate in the former. In contrast, in wolves there are more slow-twitch muscles. It makes sense, since these are, for example, those that allow their characteristic howls. And it is true that some dogs howl, but they do not do it with the same ease or with the same frequency as wolves.
Therefore, our ancestors were more attractive those dogs capable of gesturing with the eyes, almost as we do. They were selecting them until, to this day, they have become true imitators of our gestures. With them they steal our hearts; Although, being realistic, with all the love they give us, they would probably steal it from us anyway. Even if they didn’t make eyes.