Peak Puppy Cuteness & Why It Matters
Photo by Tatum Waters.
A friend just adopted a Bracco Italiano puppy, and it got me thinking about the phenomenon of “peak cuteness” in puppies. Her adorable pictures of a pup with huge ears and long legs reminded me of a study from Dr. Clive Wynne’s team at Arizona State University. In this study, researchers showed pictures of puppies at various ages from birth until seven months old to people who rated each puppy’s attractiveness (Chersini et al., 2018).
According to participants, puppies were least attractive at birth, peaked between about six to eight weeks of age, and then declined a bit in cuteness before leveling off at around six months old. This timing of peak attractiveness corresponds to when the dam weans her pups, and the puppies subsequently have to start fending for themselves.
Sample images of the three breeds (Cane Corso – top row, Jack Russell Terrier – middle row, and Whit Shepherd – bottom row) in the study at different ages. The middle column shows each dog at what was rated the “most attractive” age: 6-week-old Cane Corso, 7-week-old Jack Russell Terrier, and 8 week old White Shepherd. The left column shows the newborn pups which were rated the least attractive younger stage for all three breeds and the right column shows 7-month-old images which were rated the least attractive older stage.
The researchers hypothesized that being attractive to humans so that we would help care for them at this stage of development gave puppies a competitive advantage. “Just as their mother is getting sick of them and is going to kick them out of the den and they’re going to have to make their own way in life, at that age, that is exactly when they are most attractive to human beings,” Dr. Wynne shared in a statement (Greguska, 2018).
So why am I telling you about peak puppy cuteness?
First, I am forever fascinated by dogs and how they have co-evolved with humans to work so closely together (Hughes, 2023). How else can you explain the tight link between the age when a puppy is perceived to be its cutest to humans and the phase in life when they are much more likely to survive if they have human help? Puppy cuteness has the power to nudge us to fall in love and bond with this mostly helpless puppy.
Second, it is wise to keep this information in mind when you are thinking about adopting a puppy. Try not to get sucked in by that adorable face unless you are ready to make a lifelong commitment.
Finally, take lots of adorable pictures at this stage of peak cuteness so you can look back on them in a few weeks when potty training may not be going as well as you would like, or they are in the more trying adolescent stage. Don’t worry, these stages will pass.
And that pup that wrapped you around their little paw will grow into a wonderful, beautiful, and loyal companion!
References
Chersini N, Hall NJ, & Wynne CDL. (2018) Dog pups’ attractiveness to humans peaks at weaning age. Anthrozoos. 31:3, 309-318, DOI: 10.1080/08927936.2018.1455454
Greguska E. (2018, May 7) ASU prof pinpoints optimal age of puppy cuteness. ASU News. https://news.asu.edu/20180507-discoveries-asu-optimal-age-puppy-cuteness-clive-wynne
Hughes A. (2023) On the origin of breeds: How were over 200 breeds created?