Power of the dog

Canines have humans well trained to respond to their beseeching looks but our doggy masters do give back.

- Marc Wilson

I have a dog. Or rather, my dog Banjo has a family of humans. At 12, Banjo's getting on a bit, but he's still annoying when he's not been walked. He's a great company the rest of the time. Truth be told, he's got a bit clingy since the start of Covid, but I suspect that's to do with having people home a lot more. Our 18-year-old can't really remember a time PB ("pre-Banjo").

Humans have domesticated dogs for a long time. New Scientist tells me the first dog burial dates back more than 14,000 years. For at least that long, people and their best friends have been hunting and gathering together.

As a result, we can see that dogs have a special relationship with us. They're among the small number of animals that hold eye contact with us, and who doesn't know the power of puppy dog eyes? The little blighters know how to milk it, and we've been trained to respond. And it's not something that every dog has to learn from scratch - there's an evolutionary history to it.