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Growing up, while other kids were out playing with their pets, I was inside rereading Where The Red Fern Grows and weeping. I loved the idea of having a near-supernatural connection with an animal, and of course I was sure that I would be the clever child to be able to communicate with the misunderstood beast.

New research suggest I might have been on to something (had I been able to work up the nerve to go near an actual canine).

According to the journal of Applied Animal Behavior Science, 10-year-olds have a natural talent for understand what dogs are trying to say. A study revealed that children (aged 6, 8, and 10) and adults listened to different kinds of recorded dog barks. The 10-year-olds could best categorize the barks as fearful/lonely, angry, or playful.

Discovery News has an interesting run-down of the long relationship between dogs and people--and the way animals "eavesdrop."  It  does not, alas, include how you can communicate to your 10-year-old who's begging for a dog why she cannot have a pet.

More reasons to love your pets:
What we learn from our dogs
How having a kitten helps kids
Life lessons from a hungry beagle