For years there have been studies on ways that dogs are similar to humans. Scientists are finding more proof that our favorite fluffy counterparts are actually very in tune with our emotions. Recent studies show that when tested against people who were nice to their owners and people who were not, dogs chose the nicer people to take treats from. Maya Wei-Haas from National Geographic wrote an article on these findings. There are many other studies that have proven dogs are very in sync with humans.
Studies also comment on dogs evolving their facial movements to make it easier for humans to understand their needs. Dogs show emotions like empathy, and even enjoy similar past times to their humans. More actions which make dogs similar to humans include copying or paying attention to learn from us. Dogs can actually mimic how people interact with each other in their own way, say by either ignoring or engaging a person depending on how they treat their humans. Young children do this, which helps them eventually grow to understand how to read people. It turns out, dogs use these same methods.
It is thought that by being observant, dogs have learned what humans (and more specifically) owners will acknowledge or react to. Dogs evolved from wolves, who were primal and therefore did not rely on human interaction or services. As dogs became more domesticated, it required them to convey their needs in new ways, since they don’t have the gift of words. This all led to the copying, observing and adopting of human actions- mostly in facial expressions and day to day interactions. Dogs are truly remarkable. It is a testimony to their intelligence how far they have come as man’s best friend.