United States: A new research has stated that the human urge to help and pet animals has begun from the earliest years of life. In the study published by the journal Human-Animal Interactions, the scientists describe how toddlers were twice as likely to hand over unreachable toys and treats when dogs showed an interest in them.

The study made by observing children as young as two years old found that they went out of their way to help dogs get toys and tasty treats that were placed beyond their reach, despite never having met the animals before.

The study observed that toddlers could not only understand the dogs’ desires but were also willing and able to help them out, even though there were hardly any chances of the dogs returning the favour.

“It’s really special to see how early this begins,” Dr. Rachna Reddy, an evolutionary anthropologist and first author on the study who holds posts at both Harvard University and Duke University, remarked.

“From early in our development, we have tendencies to behave prosocially towards other people and try to understand what’s going on in their minds. The latest study shows that even toddlers “have the motivation and the ability to extend this kind of helping behaviour to other animals,” the anthropologist continued.

The researchers held the study on 97 toddlers aged between 20 and 47 months and watched them interact with three child-friendly dogs, Fiona, Henry, and Seymour, at the University of Michigan’s child lab.

“Very young children go out of their way to help dogs, specifically small, child-friendly dogs who are struggling to access out-of-reach treats and dog toys. This is true both for toddlers with pet dogs at home and those without,” Prof. Henry Wellman, a senior author on the study at the University of Michigan, commented.

According to researchers, friendly behaviour toward other species may have helped humans thrive around the world. Apparently altruistic acts, such as leaving food out for animals, could have underpinned practices that led to the domestication of species from dogs and cats to cows, pigs, sheep, and horses.

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