Oxytocin makes dogs best companions for humans

Washington: A new research has revealed that dogs and their humans feel connected when they gaze into each other's eyes as they get a boost in their circulating levels of oxytocin hormone.

The research also suggested that humans and their dogs bond so tightly because when dogs make eye contact with their owners, they trigger biological signals similar to the ones that are activated when a mother looks at her child, the Verge reported.

The team of researchers examined oxytocin levels in urine belonging to 30 dogs and their owners before and after a 30-minute interaction, and how long they both stared at each other, and compared it with the pairs of wolves and their owners to see if undomesticated animals that are closely related to dogs would lead to the same result.

The findings showed that the dogs and their owners had increased levels of oxytocin in their urine after gazing into each other's eyesas compared to wolves, or the humans who own them.

The researchers also administered oxytocin - or a saline solution devoid of oxytocin and observed that dog owners experienced a larger-than-normal increase in their own oxytocin levels when they interacted with their doped-up female dogs possibly because female dogs are simply more sensitive to the artificial administration of the drug.

The research is published in Science journal.