Humans look back on a long co-evolution process with viruses, bacteria, insects and animals. The focus on a solitary evolution of humans alone is already a challenge, although we know that the evolutionary process is much more complex. Within the co-evolution process of humans and animals, the co-evolution with the species of dogs has lead to interesting learning opportunities for both. Braeuer et al (2024) show that a dog’s cognitive capabilities to perceive human emotions beyond simple positive or negative emotions. As dogs seem to monitor their owners constantly, many of them are able to alert persons about health and/or emotional state. This is a learning process for dogs, but also for their human owners as their authentic emotional expressions are immediately recognized by their dog. A co-evolutionary approach offers a lot of benefits to all involved.
