Cavaliers 101

It is possible that I've given the impression in these pages that my dog Bisou is the cutest Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in existence. In the interest of full disclosure, however, here are some pictures of the four Cavalier color varieties (photos by Alix Leopold, Bisou's breeder).

Here is Bisou--technically known as a "Ruby"--with her sister Luna, a Black-and-Tan, at six weeks old. Is your oxytocin flowing yet?


This soulful face belongs to a Tri-Color--see the white, tan and black spots?


And this particular dog, whom I call The Breck Shampoo Girl, is a Blenheim (Blenn'em). Which do you like best?

Oxytocin

I thought I knew all the basic stuff about oxytocin and its role in human sex, parturition, lactation, and pair bonding. But I have just found out that you can raise your oxytocin levels by interacting with your dog--especially by gazing into your dog's eyes lovingly and lingeringly . Patricia McConnell, who wrote The Other End of the Leash does a good job of summarizing the research here .

Last night I was watching one of those Nature shows about how wolves evolved into pugs and borzois, all in the service of man, and it was stated that the repeated stroking of a dog raises the dog's oxytocin, as well as the owner's. I'm sure the same principle applies to cats, and probably ferrets, but I'm not so sure about turtles and snakes.

Aren't we lucky to live in a scientific age? For eons we've known that hugging babies makes us and the babies happy, that petting dogs makes us feel calm and contented. And now, thanks to scientific research, we are reassured that those warm and fuzzy feelings were real, after all, since they are caused by the rising levels of a certain hormone.

It's good to know that all this time we haven't just been imagining things.