Can dogs love us?

I was reading different point of views from several pet psychologists and it seems the majority do not think that a dog has the ability to love in the same way we do. According to them, a dog simply invests in us because he has something to gain, whether it be food, treats, out door access, etc.

There is a smaller camp of pet psychologists who feel that dogs do show us unconditional love. What do you think? Can dogs love like we do?

 

I think we fall into this trap where we try to compare everything to our "human terms."

I do think they love. I don't think that it's just for food, but I also don't think it's necessarily like humans 'unconditionally love' either.

 

I'm not sure..I guess they love us in their own very special way. I know I feel loved by Homer even though I sometimes suspect he loves his carrots more

 

Mishka loves my wife and I. When my wife and I cuddle Mishka will jump up on us and joins in. She even tries to get some licks in.
So I will go for...

 

I tend to agree with you, but the other camp of psychologists say that what we view as affectionate gestures, is merely the dog getting what he wants from us. In other words, he acts cute to gain access to resources. I'm not sold on this but that's their position.

 

I'm definitely not sold on this "dogs don't love" concept. From what I understand, they definitely do act cute in order to gain certain things: food, treats, attention, etc. However, I don't believe that every bit of affection that dogs show for their human companions is an act of "gimme this," you know? Do dogs love the same way that humans do? No, probably not. That doesn't mean, however, that they don't love.

 

I totally agree with you. It's true, they don't give us unconditional love like the way we humans give one another.

Theirs is more similar to loyalty and companionship when, if you think about it, is still some of the most basic components of love.

Back to your question...love can come in different forms- there's motherly love, spousal love and puppy love. With all due respect to what science has to say about this, love cannot be measured so why should we believe in what science dictates when it has failed to find a way to measure love.

Besides, if they did, we would already be able to determine who our soulmates are after undergoing a series of tests.

Oh, great thread, by the way.

 

Very good point haopee. Love being an abstract thing can not be put under a microscope. It's an educated guess or theory at best. Maybe I'll just ask my dog lol.

 

This is a very interesting question. It makes me think of another question. When an owner is hurt or killed sometimes dogs will mourn or stay with the body. I've read about this at least. And I've seen at least one video of a dog laying next to the body of his owner that had been shot to death (the body covered by a tarp) If the owner is injured the dog won't abandon the human. Of course this is not every situation. What would you call this? Is it love or instinct? Habit?
Maybe something that is a shadow of love, the closest dogs can get to 'unconditional'. I don't believe animals have the depths of feelings and emotions as humans but I won't say that they don't have it in some form or capacity.

 

Pigeon, I don't know.

Some people claim that it is simply habit and that they're trained to know that that person brings them food (so instinctual reaction there), etc. Even when other people bring them food, though, they often don't eat it...or leave, even if they do. I really think it's more than that. Whether it's what we call love, I don't know, but I don't think that's just instinct or habit.

 

Whatever you want to call it love, obedience, loyalty, there is a connection between a dog and his owner. For me I will call this unconditional love. I have seen my dogs be there to support family members and to miss them when they are gone. Perhaps some of these pet psychologist would call that loyalty, but to me this is love. No one is going to tell me that Buddy and Oso don't love me. Because I know for a fact that they do, in fact sometimes I think they love me a bit too much, with wanting to jump all over me. Also, I have heard the stories of dogs who won't leave their decease master's graves. Sorry, but for me this goes a bit beyond loyalty. These dogs were truly grieving which means they must have loved their master a great deal.