RICK RADER, MD ■ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

PEAK CUTENESS: Dogs have evolved specifically to rely on human care; "Around seven or eight weeks of age is exactly when they are most attractive to human beings."

The One with the Waggly Tail

The lyrics to the hit song "The Doggie in the Window" commandeered you to sing along, and millions did. The song was cute because puppies are cute. And humans are captivated by "cute."

So I'm in the car on the way to Birmingham for a presentation. The ride is about 150 miles and takes approximately two hours. I'm lucky to find a radio station that plays vintage rock music. It's the same station that inspired my September 2018 editorial on "Respect" when they played Aretha Franklin's hit and announced her passing.

I'm listening to songs that I grew up with (which is the purpose of listening to vintage rock) and I'm singing along as if I'm a finalist on the TV show The Voice.

They are playing "Yakety Yak" by the Coasters and, after that, David Saville's "Witch Doctor." And I start thinking these were the stupidest songs imaginable. Despite those thoughts they continue to hurl more stupid songs at me. "The Purple People Eater," and then "The Chipmunk Song." My threshold for these songs is reaching its peak when they really test my stamina and play, "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?" I'm about to switch to NPR when they take another shot over my bow with Chuck Berry's "My Ding-a-Ling."

Without ample time to recompose myself they push me to my limits with "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini." Finally, the announcer comes on and I take my first deep breath since "Yakety Yak." He asks his radio audience if they have been enjoying these "novelty songs" – and, if anyone had a request, they should call in. Writing in That Old-time Rock & Roll, Richard Aquila describes the novelty song. "A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Novelty songs achieved great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s and had a resurgence of interest in the 1950s and 1960s."

Novelty songs often are inspired by a holiday or fad such as a dance or TV program. They often use ridiculous lyrics, sounds or instrumentation. The novelty song "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" referred to someone having a nervous breakdown and being committed to a "funny farm." Not exactly a sensitive and empathetic ballad to a psychiatric condition; and not exactly a song that would get any airtime if released today.

The titles alone announce themselves as belonging to that genre. "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas," "Short Shorts," "The Little Nash Rambler," "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport," "Alley Oop," "Ahab The Arab," and "The Monster Mash" could only be "novelty songs". As I'm pulling into the parking lot of the medical center at the University of Alabama, they finish me off with the hit song "The Doggie in the attractiveness to humans. The research published in the journal Anthrozoös suggest that pups' attractiveness was lowest at birth, reached peak-cuteness at roughly 10 weeks of age, then gradually declined and leveled off. Window." Released in 1953 and sung by Patti Page, this song reached number one on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts and sold over two million copies. It suffered from terminal "cuteness." The lyrics commandeered you to sing along, and millions did.

How much is that doggie in the window? (woof woof) The one with the waggly tail How much is that doggie in the window (woof woof) I do hope that doggie's for sale I don't want a bunny or a kitty I don't want a parrot that talks I don't want a bowl of little fishies You can't take a goldfish for a walk.

I realized that I could have turned my car off before the end of the song, but I didn't. I heard the whole thing; and realized I was held captive by the "too cute" factor.

The song was cute because puppies are cute. And humans are captivated by "cute." Luckily for puppies that we find them cute. There is actually an evolutionally orchestration of when puppies reach "peak-cuteness."

New research into the foundations of human-dog bonding reveal that dogs reach maximum cuteness at about the time they get weaned. There is indeed a connection between pups' weaning age (the most vulnerable period during a dog's life) and their attractiveness to humans. The research published in the journal Anthrozoös suggest that pups' attractiveness was lowest at birth, reached peak-cuteness at roughly 10 weeks of age, then gradually declined and leveled off.

Researcher Dr. Clive Wynne of Arizona State University's Canine Science C o l l a b o r a t o r y reported, "Around seven or eight weeks of age, just as their mother is getting sick of them and is going to kick them out of the den and they are going to have to make their own way in life, at that age, that is exactly when they are most attractive to human beings." He suggests that dogs have evolved specifically to rely on human care.

"For them," Wynne submits, "it's the absolute bedrock of their existence… being able to connect with us, to find an emotional hook with us is what actually makes their lives possible. The eight-week point is just the point where the hook is biggest, the ability of the animal to grab our interest is strongest. But having grabbed our interest, we continue to love them all their lives." Especially the ones with the waggly tails.

Like all parents, parents of children with special needs don't need six or eight weeks to get hooked; they are hooked, connected and transformed the second they see their babies, touch them and hold them. While they may not all be "cute" and may not have "waggly tails," they are loved all their lives… and beyond.•

In his 87th year, the artist Michelangelo (1475 -1564) is believed to have said "Ancora imparo" (I am still learning). Hence, the name for my monthly observations and comments. — Rick Rader, MD, Editor-in-Chief, EP Magazine Director, Morton J. Kent Habilitation Center Orange Grove Center, Chattanooga, TN