We all like to think that our dogs love us as much as we love them, and the way they can look at us with those big, soulful eyes, or jump around with joy and wag their tails when we come home, would seem to support the idea.
But are we just transferring our own ideas of what love is onto an animal that doesn’t even understand the concept? Are they just pleased to see us because they associate us with food? And do they only behave as they do towards us because they know that we’ll respond by doing the things to and for them that they want us to?
As ever with our pets, none of this is as straightforward as it might at first seem – and we already found this to be the case in this previous article asking the same question about our cats!
So this month, we’re looking into the question of whether our dogs really love us – or would they just switch their attention to another human at the drop of the hat if that was the best way of getting what they wanted?
Are dogs fickle?
Let’s be honest, unless we’re talking about one that’s either been trained as a guard dog or has an unhappy back story, it’s pretty easy to make a dog like you. Give them a couple of treats and a good fuss and it already feels like you’re their friend for life.
But there’s actually a very big step from that to the sort of behaviour that is generally seen as demonstrating the love of a dog for his or her owner.
How do dogs show love?
There are several signs we regularly observe that suggest that our dogs do indeed love us, including:
- They are pleased to see us – when you come home and your dog responds by jumping up at you, barking, wagging its tail and so on, it’s hard not to believe that they’re anything other than really, really pleased to see you. It even happens when they’ve already been fed!
- They follow us everywhere – once your dog has taken you to its heart (or maybe accepted you as its pack leader), it’s like acquiring a new shadow, to the extent that they’ll often even sit outside the bathroom while you’re on the loo, patiently waiting for you to finish and rejoin them.
- They look into our eyes – between dogs, direct eye contact can be aggressive and if that’s the case it soon becomes obvious. With us, on the other hand, their gaze is totally relaxed.
- They sleep with us – dogs are pack animals that in the wild group together at night to form a defensive shield in the event of danger. By sleeping with us, they are showing that they fully trust us and feel totally safe even when their guard is down.
All this seems like strong evidence that our dogs do actually love us, and we generally know that they don’t behave the same way with casual acquaintances – even ones who feed them treats! But can we still be sure that we’re not just transferring our own values and emotions onto an animal that has vastly different motivations and ways of thinking?
Do dogs love their owners?
If we can’t trust our own instincts when it comes to understanding our dogs’ behaviour towards us, we have to dig a bit deeper, so it may not surprise you to know that scientists have given over a considerable amount of time to analysing the matter.
Some of these have involved examining the effects of different smells on a dog’s brain. A 2014 study carried out at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, found that a dog’s caudate nucleus – that’s the bit of their brain that relates to, among other things, positive expectations and emotions, social rewards and enjoyment – reacted most strongly when they were presented with the scent of their familiar human.
A similar study in Budapest, but this time using sounds rather than smells, got much the same results, while a Japanese team found that both dogs and owners had increased levels of oxytocin (often referred to as the ‘love hormone’) after spending time gazing into each other’s eyes.
Last, but not least, there are whole internet pages given over to videos of dogs reacting with unrestrained joy when military owners return from months away on duty, which strongly suggests that not only do they love us, but they also remember us. It also blows away any suggestions that our dogs will just switch their affections to whoever is feeding them at the time.
Here at Green Lane Farm Boarding Kennels, we know we love dogs, and we’re sure that – while they undoubtedly miss their owners – all our visitors are as happy as they can be while they’re staying with us. Just take a look at our reviews to see what our customers have been saying about how their pets reacted positively to being with us.
We’re conveniently located for those living in and around Chessington, Kingston and the rest of Surrey, so next time you need someone to look after your pet – whether it’s a dog, cat, rabbit, tortoise, rat or chicken – just give us a call.
