What makes dogs so special? Love!

They wag their tails to greet us and are happy to cuddle in the evening, but do our beloved dogs actually feel the same love for us as we do for them?

“Does he really love me or does he just want his food as quickly as possible?” many wonder when their dog sits in front of an empty food bowl with puppy eyes. Can dogs truly love humans the way we love them?

What makes dogs so remarkable is not just their intelligence, but their ability to form loving relationships with other species. In short, the ability to feel and express love.

Love and Science

In science, the term love is vague and not truly measurable, but the degree of bonding is. Dogs appear to form psychological attachments to their owners. "Dogs really look up to their owners in a way comparable to the love between a child and a parent," Wynne adds.

Oxytocin, also known as the cuddle hormone or happiness hormone, is an important substance in the brain responsible for feelings of intimacy and bonding. Oxytocin is present in the brains of both humans and dogs. Oxytocin stimulates the dog's 'pleasure centers'. It is produced when seeing food, but also when the owner appears. Even the owner's scent is enough to activate this happiness hormone.

Do you want to strengthen the bond between you and your dog? Here are some tips.

Try to translate a dog's body language into human language. What do the signals your dog gives you mean? Stress, fear, joy…? How does certain behavior come about and what triggers it?

Do many activities together with your dog and try to work together. For example, you can run an obstacle course together and try to finish it together. Is running not for you? Then you can play a search, tug, or fetch game. For this, buy toys intended for these types of games so that the toys will last longer. Motivate your dog by applying some variation here and there. A change of toys, game, or location can work wonders.

Have fun!