Aug 06
Have you ever noticed that your best friend seems to mimic your behavior at certain times? The truth is, the more you are around them, the more they start to follow your cues! It’s human nature, right? Well actually no, it is more like canine nature. The Gorilla isn’t talking about your human best friend…he’s talking about your dog. British scientists have now suggested that dogs may very well try to imitate their owner’s behavior at certain times. Much like many humans do with one another. When you yawn, your dog may mimic you and yawn himself, which suggests a small degree of empathy for their human counterparts. This behavior has previously been shown only to occur in humans and chimpanzees–until now. Recently, 72% of 29 dogs tested were caught yawning after observing a person doing it. So pay attention next time you yawn when Fido is watching. The Gorilla has actually made this observation in the past, but it has not been limited to just yawning. The Gorilla’ furry friend will cry (howl) when he sees tears and sing (howl) when he hears the Gorilla sing (most likely due to the pain inflicted by the sound of it), and he barks furiously at anyone in the house who is yelling or arguing, as if he would like it to stop! Empathy? Well this animal has plenty of it, and it didn’t take a British scientist to make us aware of it!
Our beloved dogs are simply loaded with more sympathy in one paw than most humans have in their whole body! No wonder they are called “man’s best friend!” Now if only we can train them to take out the garbage and make us coffee. Now that would be the cat’s pajamas, don’t ya think?
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