Comments on: Does Your Dog Love You As Much As You Love Your Dog?

By: Lauranne

Lauranne — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 11:31:21 +0000

Congrats on another extremely wise 1000th post!! I think the key thing to remember, as you have pointed out, is that they are a dog and so we cannot put human thoughts and reasoning onto them.

By: Jodi

Jodi — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 19:31:28 +0000

Big achievement Pamela, Congratulations!!

My dogs are happy to see me when I come home, seek me out when they are afraid or uncertain, and that tells me they love me.

By: Jan K

Jan K — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 20:51:59 +0000

Congratulations on 1000 posts! I hope you keep going for a long time.
We got multiple dogs so they could keep each other company when we have to leave home to work. But they are still just as happy to see us when we get home. Is it because they get a treat or they know I will throw the ball? Or did they just miss me? I like to think it’s for all of those reasons. I think they show it a little more when they’re younger too. Luke tends to cling to me when I first get home. Maybe that’s just because he’s not sure I’m going to stay, whereas the girls know I will.

By: Donna O.

Donna O. — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 20:28:47 +0000

In reply to Donna O.. P.S. Congrats on the big blogiversary!

By: Donna O.

Donna O. — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 20:27:49 +0000

In reply to jan. This just might be. LOL!

By: Donna O.

Donna O. — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 20:26:59 +0000

That really sounds like a skewed study. I can tell you without a doubt that in my household, Leah is the most attached to me and Toby is the least attached to me, with Meadow falling somewhere in the middle.

If I took each dog, individually, to a room like that, I can tell you which two would be glued to my side – and which one would be wandering around checking things out – and that would be Toby. I would think that’s more of a test of a dog’s overall confidence in new situations, and really has nothing at all to do with how attached they are to their owners. Strange. I’m not even sure it proves how attached a child is.

By: Jen K

Jen K — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 14:31:37 +0000

I had another thought about the study. Where it says people who play often with their dogs got more excitable reactions – I wonder if that could be a result of that person reinforcing more excitable behaviour in the dog over a long period of time – then the dog learns what kind of behaviour that particular person is expecting of them and acts accordingly to get the appropriate response (greeting, pets, treats, attention, whatever).

I ponder this because we’ve purposely worked on very calm greetings with our dogs. They’re huge – we don’t want to encourage excitement at meeting new people lest they get knocked over or otherwise intimidated. So Moses and Alma know that calmness when we come in the door is more likely to get the response they want from us – attention, pets, etc. This extends to feeding time, going outside, etc.

Based on this, the testers would probably think our dogs don’t reciprocate the affection we have for them. And I’m not one to say either way whether our dogs love us or whether dogs feel love or whatever. I have no idea. But I think Kristine’s post today nails it – trust is more observable and arguably more important anyway.

By: Dog Love: Why Does It Even Matter? | Rescued Insanity

Dog Love: Why Does It Even Matter? | Rescued Insanity — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 03:35:39 +0000

[…] author of Something Wagging This Way Comes wrote an insightful and wise blog post today about a – in my perspective – less than […]

By: Ann Sowards

Ann Sowards — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 01:44:29 +0000

Ok, autocorrect did a number on that sentence…I mean, Franny sees me as a worthy challenge to her dominance issues. Where the hellACNE ISSUES comes from I have no idea lol!

By: Ann Sowards

Ann Sowards — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 01:40:21 +0000

Ok, here’s one thing that is never in dispute: it would be hard to not know what it feels like if a dog does NOT love you. Think of it that way.

Love is not just the give and take of caring for and appreciating what each species does for the other. Not all dogs fall in love with all people. I think that just as with people, there are some people and some dogs that just click…that really feel something more than the norm. It goes beyond neediness, and in fact you’ll not easily see it if it exists, if your dogs are not appreciated for who and what they are, but are thought of as equating human children. Knowing your dog as a dog, as he knows you only as a human, creates a special relationship, and when it is acknowledged, and respected and honored, it clears the way for a real inter-species love., that goes beyond the care rewards.

Of my six Dachshunds, ages ten thru 15, I can honestly say that Fritz respects me, but was messed up as a puppy sold too young….Franny sees me as a worthy challenge to her do I acne issues…Mokie is besotted with me but not in love…Mercedes is too in sure to love anyone! and Phoebe has too many old dogs to love to be sure what her relationship should be with the humans. But it could happen as she gets old, since she’s really sensitive and intelligent. That leaves Izzy…and Izzy, I know without a doubt, loves me more than anything in this world. And I love him. I love all my dogs, but I recognize something special, a returned, comparabl love, in Izzy.