The Dog Behavior Answer Book - Arden Moore [6]
A For thousands of years, “love” wasn’t a concept that people thought of in connection with dogs. The initial relationships between early humans and wild canines most likely developed around a mutual need for food and an ability to help each other hunt. Dogs were more like work partners than dearly cherished family members. But over the centuries, as the role of the dog evolved beyond a strictly business relationship, people began to become more emotionally attached to their canine companions.
Particularly within the past two decades, dogs have rapidly moved from being backyard protectors to bedroom-blanket stealers. We speak glowingly of how our dogs race to our front doors and greet us with smiling faces, swishing tails, and wiggling hips. We brag that our dogs comfort us when we feel blue and stay by our bedside when we are ill. Are these acts of loyalty and devotion, or simply servitude and respect? Do our dogs rush to greet us because they are truly delighted by our return or because they need to go outside or want food? Do they remain by our side when we’re sick because they truly care, or are they regarding us as members of their pack and acting out of a protective instinct?
In short, do dogs actually feel love and can they express this powerful emotion? While humans have conquered polio, landed astronauts on the moon, and created voice-activated computers, we have yet to come up with a scientific test to support or dispute the notion that dogs truly love us. I posed this question to a few experts in the field, however, and I bet their answers will agree with what most dog owners believe to be true.
Marty Becker, one of America’s best-known veterinarians and author of The Healing Power of Pets, says that dogs “truly love unconditionally. I think a dog’s love is greater than human love. Dogs don’t judge anyone. If you’re bald or overweight, it doesn’t matter to a dog. Their sense of loyalty is tremendous.”
According to Bernie Rollin, professor of philosophy at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, “If anybody loves us, certainly our dogs do. Despite the lack of a common language, dogs are capable of conveying love to us. These days, in the face of alienation and cynicism and with three out of five marriages ending in divorce, pets provide us a safe place to give and receive love in the face of this crazy society. Perhaps the better question to ask is, how many people leave their dogs versus how many dogs leave their people?”
And finally, from Alan Beck, professor at Purdue University and author of Between Pets and People: The Importance of Animal Companionship: “How do you measure dogs’ love when we don’t even understand the basis of human love beyond biology? If a dog is really dedicated to you because you are a source of food and comfort, does that really cheapen its love? I don’t think so. I think dogs feel dog love. Unfortunately, there are no objective tests. It will be a long time before we truly understand what’s going on between dogs and people.”
Until the language barrier between our two species lifts, a definitive answer remains unknown. But for now, I’m casting my vote with the viewpoint that we are doggone lucky to be loved by our canine companions.
The Dog as Psychiatrist
Q Last year was a tough one for me. My mother died, I divorced, and I moved to a new state with a new job. There have been lots of tears and days of depression, but my loving papillon, Ginger, has been right by my side the whole time. When I talk to her about my problems, she sits very attentively and will even gently touch my arm with her paw. Each time, I find myself feeling a little bit better. Can dogs read our moods and help us deal with emotional heartache?
A Ginger, your furry therapist, definitely taps into your moods. Like other dogs, she has learned that you tend to be most affectionate when you are happy or sad. Since the days when Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, emphasized the therapeutic value that dogs offer to people, mental health experts