Do Our Beloved Fur Babies View Us as Parents?

November 7, 2016

We love our pets like human children, but does that mean dogs and cats love us back in the same  psychological manner? Read on to discover what scientific studies have revealed about how dogs and cats really view us humans.

Dog Love

Dogs have been domesticated for around 30,000 years. They have been loyal and dedicated companions that seem to truly enjoy being in our company. If you’ve ever pet parented a canine, then you most likely have seen the excitement they experience when we come home from a long day or even just after a short period-of-time. Dogs also seem to be able to gauge what type of mood we are in and also the tone of our voices.

In a study done last year (2015) at Emory university, animal cognitive scientists found that the very aroma of a dog’s pet parent stimulated the “reward center” of the dog’s brain – this was over all over stimuli such as food and even play.  In another study conducted in 2014, scientists also concluded that dogs are perceptive enough to not only tell the difference in our vocal ranges, but have an understanding of what they mean (happy, sad, angry etc) with each one causing a different reaction in the dog’s brain.

The lead scientist in this study also states that dogs react to their human caretakers much the same way a toddler does to its parent. Both children and dogs will run to their caregivers in moments of stress, fear and anxiety. In addition, out of all the mammal species, dogs are the only ones that will seek out eye contact with a human they trust, but not with their biological canine parents.

From these studies we can only conclude that dogs do indeed look to us in a manner that is not based on instinct or animal behavior. That we as good pet parents actually do spark a “love” connection with our canine companions.

Cat Love

Although, cats have been domesticated for around 9,500 years, the co-existence between us and them may not have been based on mutual admiration. Anyone that has ever pet parented a cat knows they tend to be more aloof and sometimes, quite content to just be left to their own devices. Now that doesn’t mean there aren’t some felines that are very affectionate towards their human, but for the most part this “love’ is based more on instinctive behavior. According to scientists, cats don’t really view us the same as their canine-counterparts. We know dogs are affectionate and look to humans for comfort, whereas cats haven’t quit figured out what we really are…we could be just tall, odd two-legged cats to them.

Dr. John Bradshaw, Director of the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol, told National Geographic that cats haven’t exhibiting any scientific results that states they put us into a “different box” when socializing with humans. They do know we are bigger than they are, but they greet us in the same manner they would another cat – tails up, rubbing their faces along them to scent mark, sitting beside us and grooming themselves – all things cats do in a one-on-one relationship with another trusted feline friend.

Bradshaw states that cats may view us as a sort of mother substitute/part superior cat and states in an email interview to the International Science Times;

“That they rub on us without necessarily expecting a rub in return, and the apparent exchange of grooming when they lick us and we stroke them, suggests that while they do not regard us as their mothers, they do acknowledge us as being in some way superior to them,” he said. “Perhaps this is simply because we are physically larger than they are, so we trigger in them behavior that they would under different circumstances direct towards a bigger or more senior member of their feline family.”

We Love ‘Em Anyway!

Regardless of how our animals view us, pet parents love their fur babies even if they aren’t capable of loving us back in the way would we like. For many of us, our pets have become our family members and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Give your dog or cat some extra love today, whether they appreciate it has a sign of affection or just an annoying bigger cat giving them a squeeze…