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VICTORIA STILWELL



Victoria's Blog


WHY WE LOVE DOGS

By Victoria Stilwell | July 26, 2020




I have just returned from walking my dogs, which is always a social experience,
judging by the number of people I talk to while I’m out. I usually walk in the
local park, which takes me past a playground. My dogs are quite used to
interacting with all kinds of people, but even if I decide to go a quieter
route, I always bump into someone who wants to interact with my dogs and smile
when they see them. Today was especially active and we are all exhausted from
managing the human approaches we experienced, but it makes me feel good that my
dogs bring such joy to complete strangers. I often wonder why people are so
drawn to dogs in general and how come I get so googly and mushy over any dog I
see?


SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

The answer is simple. Our attraction to dogs is innate. Researchers from Rutgers
University revealed that when given the choice, toddlers between one and three
years old will spend more time interacting with live animals than with inanimate
toys. Research has also found that neurons in the amygdala, the brain’s
emotional center, respond preferentially to animal images. People are especially
attracted to beings with characteristics typical of human infants – such as
wide, large eyes and big foreheads. Baby animals produce the same instinctive
responses in us as human babies do.

Part of our attraction to dogs is also cultural. While many of us in the West
celebrate these amazing animals and have them in our homes, other cultures see
dogs as unclean and carriers of disease. We are influenced by the cultures we
live in and if our friends and neighbors have dogs, we are more likely to have
them ourselves.

Many people want and need dogs to do certain jobs for them and indeed part of
the reason dogs have evolved so successfully with us is that they have been
incredibly useful. They are good hunting partners, they protect our homes and
crops and now dogs are doing even more incredible work by detecting human and
animal disease and helping conserve our planet – the subject of my new
television show that is currently in production.


HUMAN/ANIMAL BOND

Research has also shown that a dog’s attachment to a human is like a child’s to
a parent. In fact, dogs behave similarly to young children in that they are more
apt to explore new situations and environments when a human they trust is nearby
than if that human is absent. This attachment in children is demonstrated by the
‘strange situation test’ where a child will confidently explore a strange
environment while the mother is present, but will stop exploring and anxiously
await the mother’s return if she leaves for a period of time. When dogs were put
through a similar test they behaved in exactly the same way. Not every dog will
have a similar reaction, but dogs that are very attached to their guardians will
actually have more confidence to explore novel situations if someone they know
and trust is close by.




OXYTOCIN

Our attraction to our pups is also chemical. Oxytocin is the hormone responsible
for social bonding. When a mother gives birth and holds her newborn baby for the
first time, the release of oxytocin helps her bond with her baby. When people
fall in love, oxytocin production increases their heart rate, makes them sweat,
and causes a butterfly sensation in the stomach. It should not be surprising,
therefore, that a 2003 study showed that oxytocin also plays a large part in the
social and emotional bonding between dogs and humans. When dogs were petted by
their owners, their oxytocin levels rose between 5 to 24 minutes of a petting
session, proving that positive social contact is beneficial for both species.

Oxytocin also strengthens social memories in the brain, allowing dogs to bond
during social interactions as well as to remember their experience. However,
this might not always be a positive thing as research shows that oxytocin can
also cause emotional pain. This hormone appears to be the reason stressful
situations are remembered long past the event and can trigger fear and anxiety
in the future. If a social experience is negative or stressful, the hormone
activates a part of the brain that intensifies the memory. Oxytocin also
increases the susceptibility to feeling fearful and anxious during stressful
events going forward.


SIMILAR EMOTIONS?

Dogs and people share more than just a chemical attraction. We behave in a
similar way too. When a dog guards resources and space, monopolizes a person’s
attention, or fights with ‘siblings’ she could be acting out of jealousy.
Although this anthropomorphizes intent, the definition of human jealousy
includes phrases such as ‘vigilance in maintaining or guarding something,’ and
‘resentment against a rival.’ This seems to explain canine behavior that is
pushy, resentful, and competitive. It’s very common for dogs to push themselves
between hugging couples or invade the space of another dog that is being petted.
In fact, the presence of human caregivers can cause fights between dogs that are
vying for attention or dogs that see others as rivals for that attention.

We also love dogs because they seem to be empathetic towards us. Empathy is the
capacity to understand and share the feelings of others and while dogs
definitely do show behavior that looks empathetic – nuzzling a person who is
crying for example – it is very hard to prove that dogs are actually feeling
what another individual is feeling. Dogs certainly show behavior that is more in
line with sympathy – feelings of pity for another’s sorrow or misfortune – and
have a natural ability to show consolation behavior towards those that are in
distress, usually the victim of a fight or argument.

So while dogs might not fully understand our emotional experience, they do show
‘emotional contagion’- responding to the emotions of another without fully
understanding what that individual is feeling. This is similar to a baby that
cries in response to the cry of another baby or a person who yawns in response
to another individual’s yawn.


GOOD FOR OUR HEALTH

Research has shown that dogs also make us physically and mentally healthier. Not
only do they make us more active, but they also encourage us to be more
sociable. We walk our dogs in places where we naturally strike up conversations
with other people, and even if we don’t feel like talking, people will
invariably be drawn to us because of our dogs. A 1980 study of 92 people at the
University of Pennsylvania showed that people who had pets were more likely to
be alive a year after a heart attack than those who did not have a companion
animal – most likely because the animal they had lowered their stress.

At the end of the day, most people just want dogs for companionship. The
connection we feel towards them might be even stronger than the ones we feel for
human family members. Dogs don’t judge us, answer back or lie to us – in fact,
they are the source of comfort that many people crave. It doesn’t matter who you
are, what you look like, or what job you do, as long as you are kind to your
dog, he or she will love you. It is this trust and loyalty that draws us in and
makes us love them right back.

Positively Founder & President

VICTORIA STILWELL

 * 
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 * Positively.com

Positively Founder Victoria Stilwell is a world-renowned dog trainer best known
as the star of the hit series It’s Me or the Dog. A bestselling author, she
appears frequently in global media as a pet expert and is a leading voice in the
field of animal behavior. As a passionate advocate for positive dog training
methods, Stilwell created both the Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training &
Behavior and Victoria Stilwell Positively Dog Training, leaders in dog trainer
education and licensing.
More about VictoriaMore articles by Victoria


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