The popular meme proclaiming that all dogs are puppies assumes that humans' adoration of dogs does not depend on their age. But a new study suggests otherwise. Here it was found that the attractiveness of dogs to humans peaks at about eight weeks, the same time when their mother stops feeding them and allows them to fend for themselves.
The researcher wondered if there was a link between the puppies' weaning age - when they are most vulnerable - and their attractiveness to humans. So he designed an experiment to test his question.
The study was conducted using a series of photographs of puppies of various ages, from the first weeks of life through young adulthood. Fifty-one participants were asked to rate the level of attractiveness of the puppies in each photo. Three distinctive breeds were ranked:Jack Russell terriers, cane corsos and white shepherds. The results showed that the attractiveness of the puppies was lowest at birth and increased to a maximum before 10 weeks of age before declining and then leveling off.
Cane corsos showed maximum attractiveness at 6.3 weeks of age; Jack Russell terriers showed maximum attractiveness at 7.7 weeks of age; and white shepherds showed maximum attractiveness at 8.3 weeks of age.
