All puppies are cunning , but at some point in a young dog ’s life , it goesfrom"It ’s so precious I could squeeze it to dying " to merely regularcute . But when ? According to one recentstudyin the journalAnthrozoös , peak cuteness hits between 6 and 8 weeks previous for many cad , The Washington Postreports .
Finding out when puppies reach their peak attractiveness to humans may give us insights into how domestic dogs evolved . Researchers from the University of Florida asked 51 scholarly person at the school to look at 39 smutty - and - white images of detent , who belonged to three different breeds and whose age browse from birth to 8 month . The viewers then rated them on a slip scale of squishability .
The event will go familiar to dog lovers . Puppiesaren’t entirely endearing like a shot after they ’re take over — they can seem a little rat - like — and the participants betray them accordingly . As dogs get older , as much as we might love them , their squee - worthy cuteness declines , as the attractiveness scores ponder . The sweet spot , it turn out , is the right way around when puppies are being weaned , or between 6 and 8 weeks old .
The participant tended to rate dogs as most attractive when the pups were within the first 10 weeks of their lives . According to the results , Cane Corsos were at their cutest around 6.3 weeks old , Jack Russell terriers at 7.7 calendar week former , and white shepherds at 8.3 weeks .
The subject area only used still photos of a few breeds , and it ’s possible that with a more diverse sampling , the meter of crest prettiness might change a bit . sure puppies might be cuter at an older age , and certain puppies might be cute when they ’re even untried . But weaning eld materialise to coincide with the time when puppies are no longer getting as much reenforcement from their mother , and are thus at a high risk of mortality . By acquire to draw in human support at a meter when they ’re most vulnerable , puppies might have promote their chance at natural selection until they were honest-to-god enough to wholly take forethought of themselves .
[ h / tThe Washington Post ]
