‘Dogs and Humans Aren’t so Different, After All.’
“If we surrendered
to earth's intelligence
we could rise up rooted, like trees.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke
I listened to this Dr Tara podcast (On ‘Diary of a CEO’ podcast) over two nights. It’s long! I thought it would be a good place to learn about human health and neuroplasticity, and it was. What I didn’t expect was to think about dogs, when I listened to Dr Tara’s animated fact sharing podcast.
If you browse the content ‘time-stops’ on this YouTube podcast, you may ask, ‘Why did Laura think about dogs during this?’ Well, I will tell you why…
Dr Tara explains how our stress affects humans in our family and work environments. I already knew that dogs could smell and absorb our stress chemicals (cortisol), and more. This is a good incentive for us to reduce the stress in our lives. I have also learnt recently that our stomach biome affects our dog’s gut health. I had no idea (but it makes perfect sense) that humans affect other humans with our stress as well. To the point that we can affect other peoples’ belly fat! Dr Tara specialises in Neuroscience and Leadership. Her studies on this are fascinating. For instance, both female and male human ‘leaders’ have more testosterone in their bodies. I always knew hormones ruled our lives!
The other WOW moment for me, is that humans also need to feel safe to use their senses and absorb the beauty around them. I knew this about dogs but hadn’t conscioutly thought about humans this way. Safety is the most important sense for dogs. They can’t rest, sleep, eat, toilet, play, explore, exercise etc without feeling safe. I often told this to people who wanted to book my Sensory Garden for Dogs. It is very important to me to use my senses and appreciate the beauty in my environment. So why shouldn’t it be the same for dogs? We know dogs like to sniff, and when we allow them to go at their own pace, we see our dogs take the world in. They ‘watch the world go by,‘ ‘air sniff,’ and ‘stop and stare.’ If we create safety in our dog’s world (and ours!) as much as possible, we will be able to tune in with them and share the allure of the natural world around us.
The other OMG fact that Dr Tara shared was that humans evolved to ‘social sleep’ like dogs did! Again, makes perfect sense, but I had only acted instinctively around sleep and dependents in my own life. Our son, Henry, co-slept with us in our bed until he was old enough to choose not to! His crib went unused. I slept better this way and so did he and my husband, and our Westie! The dogs in my life have always had the choice to sleep on my bed. Social sleep provides us with oxytocin, warmth, safety, and better relationships. SLEEP is integral to our health. Social sleeping for dogs and humans is the best way of getting enough of it.
Using our ‘grey matter’ is must for humans. The old adage ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ has been long disproven. New research on humans, revealed during this podcast is as interesting for humans as it is for dogs. Given that we share so much physiology, this is not surprising! I urge you to take the time to listen to Dr Tar’a’s podcast.
I read Marc Bekoff’s latest article in Psychology Today, about animal sentience. It made me think that I have turned the common stance that dogs can’t be like us because they are ‘only dogs,’ on its head. Marc’s article will hopefully elucidate the opposite response in many people - a lightbulb moment when they realise that our canine friends are sentient like us. I am so dog focused, that I hadn’t been curious about humans in this way. I was surprised, while listening to Dr Tara’s podcast, that human and dog evolution and physiology could be so similar. Yet, I must have known this, deep in my psyche. It pleased me to learn that social sleeping benefits humans as much as it does dogs. As does being around calm people (duh!), using our brain in new and novel ways, and valuing safety. We have so much in common with our dogs.
On a very personal note, where I am writing from, our tiny wooden house on Gabriola Island, in Canada, is my safe place on the planet. My parents divorced when I was three years old, and I lived with my Mum. Every summer, I came to Gabriola Island with my Dad and step-mom. We stayed in a 1940s log cabin, and I shared a sleeping cabin with my stepbrother, Jason. Life with my Mum and her second husband was sometimes unpredictable. We moved a lot. He had a smouldering temper. Being on this BC Coastal Island felt like heaven to me. Forest, sea, my little dog by my side, and predictable adults who provided a natural rhythm and security. Gabriola is still a haven for me, where I can rest, relax, and take in its natural beauty.
I understand the importance of safety, beauty, and social sleeping in dogs, at a deep level. The irony is that I was aware of this necessity for dogs but intellectually, had not connected the dots that humans also evolved this way - my feelings and actions were only visceral.
Sources:
1.1. No.1 Neuroscientist: Stress Leaks Through Skin, Is Contagious & Gives You Belly Fat!- Dr. Tara Swart 25 Sept 2023 All The Diary Of A CEO Episodes
2. ‘Oxytocin and Cortisol Levels in Dog Owners and Their Dogs Are Associated with Behavioral Patterns: An Exploratory Study.’ Front. Psychol., 13 October 2017
Sec. Comparative Psychology
Volume 8 - 2017 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01796
3. ‘The Role of Oxytocin in the Dog–Owner Relationship,’ Marshall-Pescini S, Schaebs FS, Gaugg A, Meinert A, Deschner T, Range F. The Role of Oxytocin in the Dog-Owner Relationship. Animals (Basel). 2019 Oct 12;9(10):792. doi: 10.3390/ani9100792. PMID: 31614747; PMCID: PMC6826447.
4. ‘The Role of the Canine Gut Microbiome and Metabolome in Health and Gastrointestinal Disease.’ Front. Vet. Sci., 14 January 2020
Sec. Veterinary Experimental and Diagnostic Pathology
Volume 6 - 2019 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2019.00498
5. ‘Old Dogs Learning New Tricks: Neuroplasticity Beyond the Juvenile Period.’ Dev Rev. 2011 Dec 1; 31(4): 207–239. doi: 10.1016/j.dr.2011.07.008
7. ‘Honoring Nonhuman Sentience Is Good for Them and Us- A Personal Perspective: Animals offer us so much for which to be thankful.’ Marc Bekoff, Psychology Today, Updated November 23, 2023