Dogs Decoded - The Remarkable Bond Between Humans and Their Dogs

Man's best friend. . . . In country music and popular cliche, nothing comes between a man and his dog, not even (or especially) his woman. This 2010 NOVA episode, reposted at Documentary Heaven, looks at the long and complicated history between human and dogs.

Dogs Decoded

Broadcast (2010) "Dogs Decoded" reveals the science behind the remarkable bond between humans and their dogs and investigates new discoveries in genetics that are illuminating the origin of dogs—with surprising implications for the evolution of human culture. Other research is proving what dog lovers have suspected all along: Dogs have an uncanny ability to read and respond to human emotions. Humans, in turn, respond to dogs with the same hormone responsible for bonding mothers to their babies. How did this incredible relationship between humans and dogs come to be? And how can dogs, so closely related to fearsome wild wolves, behave so differently?

Dogs have been domesticated for longer than any other animal on the planet, and humans have developed a unique relationship with these furry friends. We treat our pets like a part of the family, and feel that they can understand us in a way other animals can't. Now, new research is revealing what dog lovers have suspected all along: Dogs have an uncanny ability to read and respond to human emotions. Humans, in turn, respond to dogs with the same hormone responsible for bonding mothers to their babies. How did this incredible relationship between humans and dogs come to be? And how can dogs, so closely related to fearsome wild wolves, behave so differently? It's all in the genes.

Dogs Decoded investigates new discoveries in genetics that are illuminating the origin of dog - with big implications for the evolution of human culture as well. In Siberia, the mystery of dogs' domestication is being repeated--in foxes. A fifty-year-old breeding program is creating an entirely new kind of creature, a tame fox with some surprising similarities to Man's Best Friend.