Comment: Goats, sheep and cows all could be 'man鈥檚 best friend' Published on: 8 July 2016 Writing for The Conversation, Catherine Douglas discusses the bonds that can develop between humans and other species Dr Catherine Douglas with her dog, Mumford , Since the evolution of dogs from wolves tens of thousands of years ago, they have been selectively bred for various roles as guards, hunters, workers and companions. But dogs are not the only animal humans have domesticated, which suggests that although dogs get all the attention, there鈥檚 reason to argue other species could also deserve the title of 鈥渕an鈥檚 best friend鈥�. Anthrozoology, the study of human-animal relationships, has established that dogs demonstrate complex communication with humans. Charles Darwin thought that dogs experienced love, but it was only in 2015 that Japanese scientists demonstrated what we all intuitively knew. Miho Nagasawa and colleagues sprayed the 鈥渓ove hormone鈥� oxytocin up dogs鈥� noses, measured the loving gaze between dog and human, and then measured the oxytocin levels in the humans鈥� urine, finding them to be higher. Rest assured, dog owners, that . Horses also show with humans, and another recent paper published in the Royal Society鈥檚 Biology Letters from researchers at Queen Mary University of London has shown that . The experiments tested goats鈥� intelligence and ability to communicate with humans. What the team found may come as no surprise to anyone who has worked with livestock: goats are highly intelligent, capable of complex communication with humans, and are able to form bonds with us 鈥� treating us as potential partners to help in problem-solving situations. Our attitudes to animals tend to reflect the familiarity we have with them. Dogs score higher in perceived intelligence ratings than cows, for example, yet a study in the 1970s demonstrated that in a test cows could navigate a maze as well as dogs, and only slightly less well than children. The point was made that our perception of an animal鈥檚 ability is influenced by how we test them. A pertinent example is the study by trailblazing tortoise and his co-worker (owner) Dr Anna Wilkinson. Tortoises performed poorly in 鈥渋ntelligence鈥� tests in the 1960s, but Wilkinson identified that tortoises do not perform well when cold. The pair subsequently demonstrated advanced inter-species communication in gaze-following tasks, as is documented as a marker of intelligence in primates and also was used as one of the goat intelligence tests. Perhaps tortoises could be man鈥檚 BFF 鈥� best friend forever. They do live for a long time. We love what we know As humans are inclined to like animals they know 鈥� and believe them to be more intelligent 鈥� many farmers speak highly of livestock. In our 缅北禁地 study, we found that 鈥� something made apparent by the grief farmers felt when their herds were . But do their cows love them back? In order for a human-animal relationship to develop, animals must have little fear of humans, and the time they spend with humans must bring a high proportion of positive experiences. Our complementary study investigated the and behaviour. To validate that the cows felt positively about the experience, we used a standardised stroking test to see if they kept coming back for more. This confirmed most of our . Having worked with cows and lived with dogs, I can confirm that . Cows love a good brush as much as the next dog. Author provided In 2015, French researchers showed that 鈥� just like dogs, their ears go a bit floppy when they鈥檙e stroked. Beyond domesticity We still don鈥檛 know the abilities of our potential friends in the animal kingdom beyond those few species we鈥檝e domesticated. Over a hundred diverse species have been found to display intelligence and personalities, from the octopus to the rhinoceros (although a rhinoceros is not recommended as 鈥渕an鈥檚 best friend鈥� on health and safety grounds). Many creatures demonstrate amazing feats of intelligence and communication, if only we can develop the techniques to ask them. For example, Irene Pepperberg has spent 30 years working with , who was able to communicate to us how much a bird understands. Or the discovery that 鈥� only at a frequency inaudible to humans. Sheep can , and can use these pictures to interpret their mood, consistently outperforming dogs in this task. Pigeons can in distinguishing between a Manet, a Picasso and a Monet. What have pets ever done for us? Researchers from the University of Bristol believe keeping pets is a fundamental human trait, something we benefit from in return. Research compiled in The Dogs Trust鈥檚 reveals the health benefits of pet ownership, including a survey of doctors which found that, if it were possible, an overwhelming number of GPs would prescribe a dog for many medical conditions. Florence Nightingale promoted the healing benefits of pets, and if I recall correctly (how the owl felt about that is not recorded). It is reassuring to know that goats are intelligent and can elicit help from humans when needed; to my husband鈥檚 shame that puts goats ahead of him on the evolutionary ladder as he is not prepared to ask for directions when lost. Will goats topple dogs for the position of man鈥檚 best friend? I think a rerun of my favourite experiment with goats would be the ultimate test: French researchers demonstrated that men out walking their than those without a dog present 鈥� a true best friend. Sadly, anthrozoology is not a well-funded field of inquiry, and this and many other interesting questions posed by such research will likely go unanswered. , Lecturer in Animal Science, This article was originally published on . Read the . Share: Latest News 缅北禁地 expert highlights climate crisis in a new film A leading 缅北禁地 climate scientist is featured in a new film about how the climate and nature breakdown will affect the UK. published on: 14 April 2026 Neolithic tombs reveal ancient kinship ties Male individuals buried in Neolithic chambered tombs in northern Scotland were often related to each other through the paternal line and some were interred in the same or nearby tombs, research shows. published on: 14 April 2026 We are our Memories New exhibition by Fine Art graduate Trish Hudson-Moses, 22 April 鈥� 4 May 2026 published on: 10 April 2026 Facts and figures
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