Your New High Tech Best Friend

Although some people would argue that the smart phone has replaced them, I think most still consider dogs as “man’s best friend.” I do feel bad though for my neighbors as they stroll, leash in hand, past my front window in all kinds of weather.

Despite the fact that having a dog as a pet is a major time and financial commitment, people still find the idea appealing. But does it have to be that way?

According to this site, the first year cost of a dog can easily reach between $1500 and $2000. From then on “costs for food, treats, veterinary exams, routine diagnostic testing, vaccines, deworming, preventive medications, licenses and health insurance” can add up to a “total lifetime cost of caring for a dog to $10,000 to $14,000,” with some exceptions running to $30,000 or more. That doesn’t include the value of time spent on those daily walks, the anxiety when your dog gets loose (which seems to happen once a week to someone in my neighborhood based on nextdoor.com emails) and the grief of eventually losing a family member.

Despite the cost and inconvenience, the attraction remains and the latest news reports explain why. This comes from CNN, but the New York Times, Yahoo and several others passed along the story. According to scientists, “'Puppy dog eyes' have evolved to appeal to humans.” By dissecting dog and wolf heads, they discovered that domestic dogs have an extra eyebrow muscle that “allows them to ‘intensely’ raise their eyebrows.” This movement, the look known as puppy dog eyes, elicits a strong nurturing response in humans, like the reaction to a human baby “and also resembles a movement humans produce when they are sad."

Does that mean that dogs evolved in a way that allows them to better appeal to the ones who feed, walk, shelter and play with them? As the lead researcher puts it, "The AU101 movement is significant in the human-dog bond because it might elicit a caring response from humans but also might create the illusion of human-like communication." Hence we unconsciously move from pet owners to “pet parents” by this evolved talent for psychological manipulation!

But the Twenty-first Century question is: Why can’t we have it all without the cost? And technology has the answer.

Several companies have been developing and testing robot pets for use in nursing homes where pets often aren’t allowed or patients don’t have the ability to look after them. The latest entry is a fluffy dog called Tombot, designed by muppet master Jim Henson's Creature Shop. They built the robot to "emulate live animal appearance and behaviors, providing ongoing fun, happiness, and emotional support." Machine learning and artificial intelligence allows companies to design more lifelike, sentient robots to “focus more on human companionship rather than [traditional] task-oriented performance.”

So far tests of robotic companions have focused on their benefit to the elderly. Live dogs still produced better long-term effects than robotic toys, but the gap may be closing. One study from 2016 found only small differences in responses to a dog or a robot at first, but interaction with robot pets decreased more quickly over time. Surprisingly, they found “no measurable benefits of six weeks of interactions with either fake or real therapy animals.”

As advancements continue, though, and robots become more lifelike, act more spontaneous and are able to do more than just respond, this relationship may change. A different brand already claims their robotic pet “keeps on growing and changing, constantly updating its data in the cloud.” As it accumulates a record of the owner’s interactions with it, it will gradually shape its own personality and learn new tricks.

Prices range from $450 to about $2,000. Compared to a real dog, this sounds like a bargain. We may see this trend extend from nursing homes to ordinary homes, especially as the robots develop the same longterm appeal while incorporating new features like security cameras. Kids clamoring for a dog can try out a robot first and possibly be satisfied for the long term. Imagine a future where airline comfort animals are replaced by a robot rented at the origin and dropped off at the destination. No, that will never happen – not until some celebrity turns it into a fad!