Dogs And Owners Share A Bond Similar To That Of A Parent And Child. FACT OR FAKE?

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The dog's gaze cues connection and response in the owner, who will reward the dog by gazing, talking and touching, all of which helps solder the two, the researchers said. They suggest that dogs became domesticated in part by adapting to a primary human means of contact: eye-to-eye communication.

And when researchers gave dogs extra oxytocin through a nasal spray, the female dogs (though not the males) gazed at their owners even longer, which in turn boosted the owners' oxytocin levels.

"What's unique about this study is that it demonstrates that oxytocin can boost social gaze interaction between two very different species," said Steve Chang, an assistant professor of psychology and neurobiology at Yale who was not involved in this latest research.