Dogs and humans

My dachshund died a few years ago and I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only to admit that losing a dog is almost like losing a person. His name was Johnny and I loved him more than any dog my family ever had. I still think sometimes of his furry face, dark eyes and his playful personality.

Just the other day I was thinking of the relationship between dogs and humans and how they have become so much more than a mere animal. I consider them as another member of the family, like a little child to take care of. Perhaps we love them so much because they can’t talk and totally depend on us to live, like a young person but less annoying. It makes us feel like we’re needed when an animal can’t do stuff on their own, it makes us feel important. Plus, dogs will always need us, whereas children grow up and become independent. The same thing stands for when we play with them or cuddle them, they are like children that never grow up.

If it was for me to say if dogs are much more than just animals, I'd say yes. However, I’m going to use some evidence to back up my point of view and reaffirm your opinion, if you’re a dog lover like me, or perhaps convince you that these furry friends do much more than just keep us company.

Takefumi Kikusui, from the Azabu University in Japan, conducted a study focusing on the significance of dogs and human looking into each other’s eyes. He wanted to see if oxytocin was involved in the process. This hormone plays a role in the bonding between a mother and her baby. In fact, when the parent looks into her child’s eyes, the latter has his/her oxytocin levels increased. This pushes the infant to look back at the mother and her oxytocin levels increase too, building a bond together.

Kikusui then wondered if the same applied to dogs and their owners. So, he selected 30 people and their dogs to participate in this experiment. The scientists initially collected urine from humans and animals, who then had to be in a room together for half hour. After this interactive time, they had their urines sampled another time. Researchers found that within the couples, who gazed at each other the longest, the oxytocin levels in the animals increased by 130%, while in the humans by 300%. As a result, the researchers concluded that the relationship between an owner and his/her dog experiences the same bonding effect of oxytocin as mothers and babies do.

Another example to show the benefits of taking a care of a dog, is Project POOCH. Since 1993, this initiative gave homeless dogs to people serving their sentence at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Oregon, USA. The inmates then train the pets and take care of them, with the help of experts. Sandra Merriam, from the Pepperdine University, interviewed both MacLaren staff and youth who were part of the program. She said that the latter “felt they had changed and improved in the areas of honesty, empathy, nurturing, social growth, understanding, self-confidence and pride of accomplishment.”

Moreover, Lanette Hart published a paper in 2006 called ‘Community context and psychosocial benefits of animal companionship’. In a section analysing the effect of pets on elderly people, she cited other experiments where lower levels of depression were detected by people who lived with an animal, in comparison to those who didn’t. Furthermore, another study showed that women who owned a pet felt less lonely and had a more positive outlook on life. Additionally, people with a disability felt too that they were less lonely and could socialise better within their neighbourhood. The author writes that “Although animals cannot participate in a complex conversational interchange, they are conversational partners that respond behaviorally to the statements and moods of their human companions” (Hart, 2006, p.82).

If I wasn’t sure about the bond between owners and dogs, now I’m convinced that they can have a positive effect on us. Not only are pets a great way to be a better person, as we’re responsible of another living being, but it can be refreshing and easier to relax and play with an animal who we can be spontaneous with.

If you are further interested in the role that pets play in our life, here’s a collection of evidence from different studies about its benefits: https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-24/edition-3/value-pets-human-health