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Dogs.

They're loyal, fun, loving, and brilliant companions.

No wonder they're man's best friend.

Yet they descended from the wildest of predators.

So how did the much feared wolf become the much-loved dog in the heart of our homes?

To find out, we travel the world to bring you the most remarkable stories and the

latest scientific discoveries that reveal how dogs have become our closest

companions, unrivaled working partners, and trusted family members.

Tonight we'll reveal just why dogs are man's best friend.

She's really turned my life around.

The latest science that explains dogs are born with the ability to understand us.

We've helped to unlock her genius.

Why every dog is unique and how their undying loyalty means they'll follow us to

the ends of the earth.

Yeah, that's my girl.

I love her so much.

It's better.

Only now are scientists proving that dogs are more like us than we ever thought

possible.

This is Dogs as you've never seen them before.

The number of dogs worldwide has reached an estimated one billion.

That's one for every seven of us.

We've invited them into our lives like no other animal.

Which is remarkable when you consider each and every dog is directly descended from

our enemy,

the wolf.

And yes, that does include this one.

Dogs have undergone a huge transformation from predator to pet.

But just how did they become man's best friend?

There are over 400 pure breeds to choose from.

So there's a dog out there for everyone.

And a recent study has uncovered some interesting facts.

Wealthy dog owners like pugs.

No one knows why and the pugs certainly aren't complaining.

Golden Retrievers attract the best educated owners around the globe.

And if laughter is the key to a long life, then Yorkshire Terriers are doing

something right.

They find a home with the happiest dog owners.

Whatever the breed, the bond between man and dog is truly unique.

And the latest research is showing it's a relationship that dogs are really good at

establishing from the word go.

Labrador puppy Tweed is eight weeks old.

Although she's just learning about the world, she was born with the instinct to

make eye contact.

It's something all puppies do.

And it's helping her form an instant connection with little Loki here.

Even at just a few weeks old, Tweed instinctively follows Loki's gaze to see

what he's looking at.

Dogs are almost unique in their ability to understand the significance of where we

look and where we point.

Even our closest animal relatives, chimpanzees, can't do this.

And it turns out that from an early age, dogs can learn by watching us.

So it's not just what we say that matters, it's what we do.

Meet Carmelo, who lives in Malta with his best friend Titi, a Jack Russell.

This is my dog, Titi.

We have a big bond together.

Actually, this is my shadow.

She follows me everywhere I go.

Carmelo adopted Titi when she was just four months old.

And luckily, she shares his passion for the ocean.

Every time I have free time, I have to come to the beach.

Then she's happy she knows that we're going swimming.

But Carmelo could never have predicted that his new best friend would also learn

to love his favorite pastime, cliff jumping.

Carmelo began jumping with Titi from the lower levels before gradually progressing

higher.

Jumping from heights can be really dangerous, so please don't try this with

your dog.

We've been jumping for over six years now.

As you can see, I never force her to do anything.

It's like because she enjoys to do it.

When she jumps, she wakes her tail.

That, for me, it's a sign that she's loving it.

But what gives Titi the courage to take such a giant leap?

It's that by watching him, Titi has learned that it's safe.

She keeps looking at my eyes till I'm ready.

Without talking, she knows what I'm doing.

Even in the air, she keeps looking at me.

She feels very safe when I'm there.

Scientists believe that like children, dogs use their owners as a security

blanket.

They trust them to make the right decision for them, and trust forms the basis of all

deep relationships, even if that means jumping off a cliff.

People ask me, how do you teach her?

There's no teaching.

It's just this trust with the bond we have together.

It's really amazing.

I can't explain it sometimes.

I think we feel each other.

And it's been found that dogs and their owners can become so in tune with each

other both their heart rates accelerate whenever they're apart, only returning to

normal when they're reunited, and incredibly, they often also beat in sync.

Sometimes I think maybe I'm crazy.

I talk to her, it's like I'm talking to my son.

Carmelo, like most owners, will tell you that his dog is one in a million.

I love her so much.

And he's closer to the truth than he thinks.

In fact, every dog has a unique genetic stamp that can identify them as

individuals.

Which would be useful if this dog identification parade were real.

Because just as our fingerprints can tie us to a crime scene,

each and every dog has something unique that can incriminate them too.

Their nose print.

And just like our fingers, a dog can have their noses printed and then used to

identify them.

Under a macro lens, you can see how the ridges and vessels covering dogs' snouts

form incredible patterns.

As well as the general shape, it's a number of spores on each nose that gives

away who is who.

And before DNA tests or pet microchips were used to identify dogs, the Canadian

Kennel Club became the first organization in the world to use nose prints to

register its members and weed out imposters.

Every dog owner knows that guilty look.

And although we might think we can read them like a book, in fact, it's the other

way around.

Hey, boy.

At times, man's best friend can seem to be human-like because they understand and

communicate with us so well.

But where we rely mostly on our voices to speak with our dogs, it turns out that our

faces can tell them just as much.

And that's because our faces never lie, and dogs have developed an ability to read

them.

No human face is symmetrical, especially when showing emotion.

So composites of two left and two right sides look very different.

Without knowing it, the right side of our face is more explicit.

We instinctively read that side of each other to accurately gauge true emotions

better.

Scientists have recently discovered that dogs read us in this special way,

too.

And it's something dogs only do with us, not with each other.

It's a skill they've learned over thousands of years spent by our sides.

In the closest relationships, this ability can have life-changing consequences.

Flora is a Japanese Akita.

She keeps such a close eye on her owner, Robert, that she's become an early warning

system for his unexplained blackouts.

For several years now, I've been suffering from blackouts.

Consequently, I've broken many, many bones in the Aleppo hospital many

times because of that.

Robert's blackouts robbed him of his driving licence and his job, making him

completely housebound.

It really massively affected my confidence.

It's just so worrying going out there, not knowing when these episodes might

happen.

Medical tests could not explain Robert's condition.

But as soon as he got Flora, she began to spot the telltale signs of a blackout

without any training at all.

First one was when she was very, very young.

Fortunately, she'd stayed with me throughout and was actually laying over my

chest.

So I didn't really think of anything more about it at that point.

But then something extraordinary happened.

In the seconds before his next blackout, Robert noticed Flora trying to

communicate.

I was crossing a bridge in London and she suddenly became really agitated and she

blocked my path.

She got hold of my hand and she was really insistent and was pulling my hand in a

downwards motion.

And seconds later, I actually blacked out.

Flora picked up the warning signs that something was wrong, but more importantly,

she knew she needed to let him know.

Behaviour like this suggests that dogs may actually be able to consider the

perspectives of others, an ability scientists call theory of mind.

It's only found in the most intelligent animals, such as primates, elephants and

dolphins.

Now, I make sure I sort of sit myself down very, very quickly because within sort of

five, 10 seconds, I have a blackout.

Since she's done that, I haven't had any further fractures or any further serious

visits to hospital.

Flora has changed Robert's life.

But how she actually predicts his blackouts remains a mystery.

Whether it's some sort of change in my movements, I've really no idea what she

actually sees.

I honestly wish I knew what it was.

Flora and Robert's relationship shows us how closely dogs observe us and how they

can put what they see to good use.

I think very few people have guardian angels in the guises of Akitas and I'm

just very, very fortunate that I have because she's really turned my life around

and changed it for the better.

Dogs' incredible powers of observation and an ability to put themselves in our shoes

gives them a useful set of skills to draw on when it comes to getting one of their

favourite things.

Food.

To demonstrate, here's Mabel.

She's been trained to wait before tucking into her supper.

For any dog, this is a tall order.

Mabel is keen to please her owner.

But she does want that food.

So let's see what she does.

Mabel waits for her owner to turn his attention to his book.

Then she knows she can move without being caught.

Convinced he's fully engrossed, Mabel makes a break for the food.

Keeping an eye on the boss at all times.

What this shows is that although she really wants the food, Mabel is smart

enough to modify her behaviour.

She's considering what he can see and how he might react if he catches her.

It's clever stuff.

A level of thinking that explains why dogs are such good communicators.

But how much of our spoken language can they understand?

To find out, we've come to America.

Border Collie Chaser is so brilliant at understanding the English language,

she's the star of a best-selling book about her abilities.

Like most dogs, Chaser loves playing with her favourite toy.

But what makes her unique is that she has a thousand toys and knows each and every

one by name.

The Border Collie is so fast in their mental processes, we've helped to unlock

her genius.

I believe that all dogs have that capability.

From day one, Chaser's owner, retired psychology professor John Pilly,

recognised that her ability to focus on individual objects was a chance to teach

her their names.

It all started with a ball John had named Blue.

While she's looking for the ball, I keep saying, find Blue, find Blue,

find Blue.

At that moment, she realised that objects have names, understands how to associate

that particular name with a particular object.

She didn't seem to want to stop learning, so John kept going until eventually Chaser

had a thousand toys and knew them all by name.

These have been randomly chosen from the bottom of the pile and she hasn't seen

them for months.

So will she still know them by name?

First up, a stuffed giraffe called Bovine.

Get Bovine, get Bovine, get Bovine Chaser, get Bovine.

Get Bovine, get Bovine Chaser, get Bovine.

Take Bovine, take Bovine.

Good girl.

Round one is a success, but can she do it again with a duck named Decoy?

Find Decoy, find Decoy.

Bring it on girl, bring it on.

Get Blue, get Blue.

Chaser's ability to remember and understand the difference between a

thousand different objects is remarkable even for a collie, allegedly the cleverest

of all dog breeds.

Some scientists believe that the average dog has the same intelligence as a

two-year-old human toddler and the way Chaser learns the names of objects backs

that up.

Of the four toys left, Chaser already knows three and there's a new one called

Sausage.

Watch what happens when she hears the name for the first time.

Find Sausage.

Chaser is using a process of elimination to figure out that that name must go with

the unknown toy.

Get Sausage, Chase, get Sausage.

Good girl, good girl.

Chaser's even got an opinion on another dog living on her street.

Chase, where's Casey?

Who she knows by name.

Where's Casey?

Oh where's Casey?

Oh you're so tough.

Where's Casey?

We've set the stage.

We've identified a particular way that is highly successful in the dog beginning to

learn the names of objects and that's the first step, the ABC.

They're smarter than we think.

They're capable not just of learning behaviors but they're capable of learning

a concept.

I'm confident that researchers, dog owners are going to discover more and

more ways to teach dogs elements of our human language.

Chaser has learned the names of a thousand toys and you should be able to teach your

dog in this way too.

Here's a much simpler test you can try at home.

You need a treat and two cups.

Place the treat on the floor and put one cup over the top of it and the other by

its side.

Then shuffle the cups.

Lift the cup without the food under it and see what happens.

If your dog goes for the other cup, it means he's able to use the same process

of elimination as Chaser does to figure out where the food is.

This sophisticated mental process puts dogs streets ahead of other pets,

especially when combined with their ability to read our faces and understand

our language.

But how well can we understand what they're trying to tell us?

This is Shadow.

Unlike Sydney the cat, he knows how to push his owner's buttons with a warm

welcome home.

And because dogs obviously can't speak, they use their body language to full

effect to communicate with us.

We all know dogs wag their tails when they're pleased to see us, but let's have

a closer look at what's going on.

New research has found that a dog in a good mood will wag its tails slightly more

to the right, whereas wagging to the left can mean nervousness or insecurity.

But he's not just greeting his owner.

Shadow is investigating what she's been up to.

He's sniffing her body and clothing for clues about where she's been and what food

she's enjoyed without him.

And like all dogs, he's communicating with his ears too.

He's got around three times as many muscles in his ears as we have.

Behaviourists think that ears pointing forward can mean they're feeling sociable,

while back can mean your dog is anxious, which is probably because he's got

something to hide.

So do dogs really know that a sheepish look might get them out of trouble?

We're not sure if they feel guilt like we do, but we do know that they learn our

body language.

So angry gestures will make them avoid eye contact, just like us.

Dogs' impressive communication skills are what make them great companions.

But as we'll find out, it's their desire to be by our sides wherever we go that

truly makes them man's best friend.

Dogs are great companions.

They communicate with and understand us, and they love to be by our sides.

And that can have some surprising benefits.

It turns out that owning a dog is good for your health.

Researchers found that dog owners take significantly more exercise, which reduces

their risk of heart disease, as well as suffering less from colds, headaches and

hay fever.

There's no other pet as adaptable or willing to go wherever we go and do

whatever we do, although there are always those dogs that prefer to leave the hard

work to us.

When it comes to being physical, dogs can usually perform a lot better than

us.

Six-year-old Colleen Neo became an internet sensation with his version of the

extreme physical sport parkour.

Free runners Ian and Pad have practised for years to be able to pull off moves

like this without hurting themselves.

But Neo doesn't even need to warm up to jump twice his own height.

In fact, most dogs could long jump like an Olympic gold medallist if they really

wanted to.

Or a top high jumper.

Which, at a fraction of our size, is pretty amazing.

And to fetch his favourite ball, Neo runs 12 vertical feet up a tree.

That's six times his own height.

And the equivalent of one of us running straight up a lamppost.

So a huge part of dogs' appeal is their willingness to try anything.

And if the bond is strong enough, they'll follow us anywhere.

The first time Missy met her owner Stephen Novak, it seemed she'd rather stay at the

rescue centre than follow him home.

They brought Missy girl out, and she really wasn't looking very happy to be

there.

She wasn't super enthusiastic, she was very shy and standoffish.

Eventually she came over, started smelling, and ended up being the best dog

I ever had.

Ever since Stephen and Missy became friends, hanging out together,

has taken on a new meaning.

As a paragliding instructor in Northern California, Stephen takes to the sky 300

days a year, and Missy refuses to be left behind.

It can be dangerous, it's not for everybody, but by all indications she

seems to love it.

She gets up there and relaxes, and her ears go back, and her mouth opens,

and she just goes into her element, goes into a zone.

Scientists have long known that close physical contact with our dogs releases

the love hormone oxytocin in us.

But we now know that they experience the same rush from being with us.

It's a shared experience because she's doing the same thing.

She gets in the moment.

That's the energy.

What was that Missy girl?

While airborne, Missy has even found a way of adapting her dog instincts for the sky.

I think this is a terrier in her.

She likes to hunt.

Every once in a while I see her nose pucker up and kind of looking.

I'm like, what are you looking at girl?

And then I see some birds.

Ah, good girl, good girl.

Missy girl.

Where's the birds, huh?

Where's the birds?

It helps me because the birds, if they're not flapping and they're

circling, they're in rising air, and I'm searching for rising air.

Yeah, that's my girl.

She's so happy to be there.

Then we land and we're right there and get together again, like the whole time.

She'll give you a kiss on the face and run around like happy, like Christmas time or

something.

Between flights, Missy has plenty of opportunities to keep her paws on the

ground.

But from the start, she's chosen to take to the sky.

She's pretty clear about telling me what she wants, the excited bark.

Let's go, let's go, let's go.

She loves it.

I just like seeing her enthusiasm.

It's contagious.

And I think she'd much rather be with me than stuck in the backyard at home

somewhere.

She's kind of my kid and I'd go to the end of the earth for her.

She really is my best friend.

She's the best.

That's nice.

I can't really put words to it.

A dog's desire to cooperate with us is almost unique in the animal kingdom.

But what's even more remarkable is their ability to see things from our perspective

in order to help us out.

Demonstrating this is Elsa, who's been taught to take a toy to a person on

command.

But today she's been given two identical red rings.

One is placed in front of a frosted screen and the other in front of a clear one.

Where Elsa has a clear view of both toys, the person can now only see the one in

front of the clear screen.

The frosted screen has concealed the other toy from view.

And amazingly, this test proves that Elsa's aware of this.

When asked to fetch, she could pick either toy.

But works out for herself that the other one is the same.

The person must be asking for the one they can see.

It's this ability to interpret the world from our perspective that has enabled us

to rely on dogs to take on jobs with huge responsibility.

Bella's best friend is called George.

He's a Great Dane.

This is George.

He's pretty much everything to me.

I just love him so much.

11-year-old Bella has Morchio syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that means she

would normally be confined to a wheelchair.

My bones don't really grow and they're really weak.

Since service dog George arrived in her life just a year ago, Bella has defied all

expectations.

George, pretty much, he forced me to walk.

It's good for me because I can use him like a crutch because he's the perfect

height.

I was actually really excited to start walking again because I haven't done it in

two years, so it was just really exciting.

To be here, like moving around and everything, it's just amazing.

For mum Rachel and dad Ed, it's heartwarming to see Bella gain

independence.

There was always the fear of her getting knocked over, but having George with his

size, people are like, oh, a big dog, and they clear the path.

We call them Team Bella and George.

He is a spectacle everywhere they go, the two of them.

George trained for a year to get used to taking Bella's full weight and slow his

walk to her pace.

But no one was prepared for the astounding level of dedication he's brought to the

job.

By the way he acts around me, I think he thinks I'm the best thing ever.

If I go off somewhere a little bit, his eye is right on me.

He's like, I've got my job, I've got my purpose, this is what I'm doing.

He knows if she's upset, he goes right to her.

So you start to see a personality develop and then a camaraderie between the two of

them, an affection that I hadn't seen before in animals.

Bella's condition means she has a reduced life expectancy, but George is helping her

make the most of every precious day.

To me, dogs, they know how you're feeling, so whether you're sad or happy,

I feel like they can understand you better.

It's changed her life quite a bit.

She's got a lot more confidence now to do stuff.

She's willing to try more things.

It gave her independence and gave her a feeling of self-worth, I think.

To be more independent and more active, it's just amazing.

I have no words to thank for that.

George's understanding of Bella's needs is allowing her to make the most of her life.

And that's because of the unique bond that we are able to find.

It's the bond that we form with our dogs.

Dogs' ability to understand us, communicate with us and adapt to our

lifestyles makes them brilliant companions.

And just like us, they're social animals that crave company.

This can easily be seen at the park, because dogs love to meet up with other

dogs.

And for that, they have their own way of saying hello.

While we try hard not to breathe over anyone else, dogs greet each other with a

good sniff of the mouth before the obligatory move to the rear.

Dogs have a special gland here that reveals their gender, diet and even their

emotional state in one sniff.

It's a kind of speed dating.

It's important stuff to get out of the way when you're looking for the perfect mate.

And then there's the dog form of social media.

Where posting about yourself means, quite literally, weeing on one.

This post is providing Ralph with vital info about every dog that's been passed in

the last two weeks.

Time to add a comment of his own.

Like all dogs, Ralph aims high, hoping to appear at the top of the news

feed for any passing females.

But some dogs will always have the advantage on that.

Formalities aside, dogs love to play.

And you've probably seen the classic invitation to join in, the play bow.

While it can sound a bit fierce at times, it's mostly showing off.

And what they lack in stature, they make up for in exaggerated growls.

The dog version of small man syndrome, as demonstrated by Chihuahua Mouse.

Nice try.

But when you consider how diverse dogs are in size and looks, it's no surprise that

on a catwalk, a small dog can feel, well, really small next to a big one.

If human sizes varied as much as a Chihuahua and a Great Dane, the tallest of

us would be almost the same length as a blue whale.

Amazing when you think he was bred as a hunter and she as a companion dog.

Our passion to have a dog by our side means we've bred one to suit our every

need.

No wonder then that dogs became man's best friend.

But what does one breed make of another when they meet for the first time?

Does this Puli, a Hungarian sheep dog, recognize this Dachshund, although he's

from Germany and bred for chasing badgers?

And would the Dachshund recognize this ten-stone Mastiff, bred by gamekeepers a

hundred years ago on British country estates?

Incredibly, they do.

A study revealed that when shown a variety of animals, even in a photograph,

a dog will always pick out another dog.

Dogs appear not to discriminate.

Perhaps it's this easy-going attitude that we find so appealing.

And even when presented with a completely unique version of themselves, they don't

seem to care.

Dogs just don't mind what they or anyone around them looks like.

But we do.

Researchers have found that subconsciously we may pick our dogs because they look a

bit like our immediate family.

If long noses, pointy ears and sharp teeth run in yours, then you'll know what I

mean.

The theory is that we naturally gravitate towards animals that share characteristics

in our own families, in personality and looks.

And because we also choose a dog who suits our lifestyles, some dogs and owners can

end up looking very like each other.

Take these three owners and their dogs.

How would you put them together?

Here's the answer.

Let's try again.

Here are three owners and one lucky dog.

It's a tougher one, but can you spot the pair?

If you got it right, then you're one of the many who can match a dog with its

owner 80% of the time.

In fact, the same study revealed the average dog outlives the average marriage.

But that's another story.

So there you have it.

Man's best friend.

Caring.

Versatile.

Smart.

And just brilliant.

Next time.

Working like a dog.

The extraordinary abilities that make dogs unbeatable workers.

I owe my life to a newfound land.

The latest science on how their super senses help us with our work.

And how dogs' emotional capabilities mean they're always finding new ways to work

alongside us.

I think she's probably a once-in-a-lifetime dog.

In an ever-changing world.

And we've more with new The Secret Life of Dogs next Tuesday at 9.

Tomorrow at 7.30, Sophie and Rosie are playing a dangerous game in Coronation

Street.

And Daniel puts his foot in it with Sinead.

And in the finale of Drama Unforgotten, Who Murdered David Walker?

All Cassie and Sonny suspects have a motive and connection.

Find out the truth Thursday at 9, next to the ITV News.