Do Dogs Really Love Us?

We treat our furry companions like they're part of the family. But do dogs feel the same way about us?

[weedeater]

Wholesome dog story #32: One time my dog had a nightmare and he couldn't sleep so I sat next to him and sang to him about how precious he is to me and he went back to sleep.

[capybaraqueen]

I haven't this video but if dogs truly don't love us I'm ending it all 😢

[zaphyyy]

the dog and i stared at each other a few seconds ago and had this random thought

[IllusionQueenEva]

My teacher's dog chose to follow my teacher out of the room even when someone else in the room had treats.

[jessereiter]

I had two dogs that absolutely loved me and I would absolutely bet my life that they loved me with no hesitation. First was a short haired boarder collie he would sneak up behind me and start breathing loudly to let me know he won that game. but one day I was putting shingles on my roof. I heard his breathing and I thought no way but when I turned around there he was with a big smile on his face he had climbed the latter on his own no training after that I couldn't keep him off the roof. He knew when the mail man would deliver the mail and would ne waiting for him I heard Tippy barking looked out the window he wouldn't put the mail in the mailbox I had to go get the mail because he was afraid tippy would jump on him. Tippy lived more than 17 years with new surprises every day.

[shmackedmuffins]

Dogs love us but something’s fishy about them dang cats.

[Liberty-or-Death-]

I doubt they have the same complexity of emotion as humans, but I can verify that my dogs have always preferred to be near members of the family. Example: I had a dog that was terrified of thunder. She could have chosen any corner of the basement to hide in, any out of the way place in the house, but she always pushed open the door of my bedroom and hid under the bed. If I moved to another room she would follow and hide in there.

[mochi-sklv]

I'm the one who feeds my dog and she doesn't even like me but she loves my mother who never feeds her

[VincentJonesII]

Thank you! That was a well-produced and researched video.

[mojavezombie]

Great video. This deserves more likes than it has

[deletedwaffles]

When you hear stories of the dogs that will risk their lives protecting their owners you know that dog loves its human.


And when you see those videos of soldiers coming back from their tours and seeing the reaction of the dogs seeing their owners for the first time in a year you know it's pure love.

[shadow]

My dog does love me cry so much when we’re gone

[noelkinz]

Dog's first commandment
1. Love food over anything else.

[s_a_a_m]

Flawed interpretations! What has been shown in the study is a mere correlation between the neural activation and the sight of their owners, it doesn't mean that the 'sight' by itself has a affectionate image. Associations (e.g., classical conditioning), can explain how they associate any observable characteristics of their owners (e.g., sigh, smell) with rewards, which is driven by their instinct and the repetition. Anything that creates an 'image' of the owner, activates the rewards brain region. It's no surprise that they form a preference for their so-called 'owners', as long as the owners are the ones that reward them with food. If you bring in a 'stranger' that keeps rewarding them, while their 'owner' doesn't, and continue the experiment for long-enough, the extinction of the conditioning happens, which means they'll appreciate the stranger that is more likely to reward them more than their original owners.

[pizzaninja]

This is fake! My dog totally loves me because he always cries when I’m gone

[darbydupree]

It doesn't say anything about the very small frontal lobe which is responsible for love and reasoning.

[elmoL]

Dogs love us because they were bred to help us, cats on the other

[katybarnes]

The only people claiming dogs don't love us have never owned a dog (or they mistreated it) For dog owners there is no question. I'm only here for the science.

[fielr]

Do dogs really love humans but not other dogs? That seems unlikely. Why would dogs love humans but not other dogs? Doesn’t a mother dog love her puppy? When humans separate the mother from her puppy, does that break the heart of the mother? How the mother reacts to her missing puppy would seem to be a good indicator of her feelings toward her missing puppy and whether or not dogs can love each other. Does she whimper or howl in agony? I really don’t know the answer to that last question but I’d like to know, if anyone can tell me. By the way, is that a good thing that we do that? If dogs are loving creatures should humans be separating mother dogs from their puppies? A high percentage of puppies are separated from their mothers as soon as they are weaned.

[PaulLorenzini-nyyw]

My dogs hate scientists, and that's that, but they definitely say thank you and love our family. Science sucks.