Canine early-warning system
Dogs and humans have been together for some 30 000 years or thereabouts. We are so intertwined that our evolutionary progression is linked. Apparently, when hunter-gatherers domesticated dogs back in the day, they obviously served as an excellent early-warning system. Dogs are more alert and will detect any incoming danger well before us humans. This is a killer feature and no wonder that we have become good friends over the years. Here’s a cool fact about dogs. Your sleep quality improves if you have a snoring dog nearby.
As an acoustician and dog owner, I found this idea captivating. Some say that you never sleep as deep or feel as rested when you stay at a hotel or when travelling. That is because your body knows that you are in an unfamiliar place and cranks up the fight or flight response a bit, just in case. It doesn't matter that the probability of a sabre tooth tiger sneaking up on you when you are sleeping, is significantly lower today than 30 thousand years ago. Your body is still running ancient programs and operating systems. When you are back home in your own bed, sleep quality is just so much better. The snoring dog has the opposite effect. Your body hears the snoring dog and understands that it can relax, knowing that the dog will warn us if anything happens. Consequently, the fight or flight response is reduced, which is a very nice feature.
When I first became a dog owner, I was a bit annoyed by the labradors snoring. But before long, things changed. This was some ten years ago. The dog is now twelve years old and in the last year, he has decided that he has access to our bedroom and the comfy mat on the floor. My wife is a bit sceptical for hygiene reasons, but I have stopped caring. He is so old now that he has developed an exceptionally strong personality and stubbornness. He has just stopped caring and wants to handle stuff according to his own preferences. And my sleep quality improves, so I consider it a win-win. Besides, he is so old now so he could be gone anytime. Better make those moments count.
The dogs also like to sleep in the boy’s bedroom. Usually, one of them will stay behind after the good night storytelling is over. My boys often ask me if they can have a dog in their room when sleeping. I don’t see any problem with that, so it is the usual procedure of course. Maybe the boys are also affected by the health benefits of a snoring dog.
I don’t have any sources for my claims, only personal experience and iterating stuff that works. But the whole idea of using the dog as an early-warning system makes a lot of sense to me. While writing this blogpost, the Labrador is lying on my feet – snoring loudly. I am truly blessed.