Developmentally, 2-year-olds are generally more interested in themselves, while dogs do care how their people feel, and instantly recognize a change in emotion.

"While your dog can't comprehend that you just received a traffic violation, he can tell that you're upset the second you walk through the door," Coren says. "In fact, dogs can detect some subtle changes which even ad ults can't," adds Coren. "We can't smell cancer or predict seizures, as dogs can."

When I posted this story on my Facebook Fan page recently (www.new.f acebook.com/pages/Steve-Dale/50057343596?ref=ts, or simply type Steve Dal e into the Facebook search), I received some interesting responses: