Does your dog really love you?

Did you send a Valentine’s card to your pet back in February? Do you think he or she would send one to you?

Cats evolved as lone hunters, so love for their human family is most akin to the love an infant feels for its nurturing mother. Cats would only send Valentine’s Day cards to humans who fulfil that role. The rest of us are potential meals, if only we were small enough!

Scientists say that I am misinterpreting dogs’ behaviours when I say dogs are capable of love. They say that, through evolution, dogs learned to use their ‘cute’ emotional displays, including wagging tails, dropped ears and lips drawn back in a ‘smile’, simply to get rewards from us, such as attention, treats and access to the great outdoors. They add that we’ve selectively bred dogs to have physical characteristics that trigger a loving and caring response from us. These include showing the whites of their eyes or having flat, baby-like faces.

The proof that dogs don’t love us, scientists say, is that when they are handed over to new owners, they use the same techniques on them. I find this argument narrow. Like all dog owners, I am subjected incessantly to the big brown eyes routine. The fact that in their hunt for a biscuit, dogs will try this gambit on anyone doesn’t mean that they are not capable of different forms of love.

Scientists happily recognise different types of aggression in dogs: sex-related, possessive, dominant, territorial, pain-induced, maternal and so on, so why shouldn’t they also recognise that dogs can feel love – of possessions, family or individuals? When dogs are in physical contact with their human ‘family’, their brains release the pleasure chemical dopamine, as our brains do, when we feel happy and relaxed. When attracted to another person, your brain releases dopamine. We are comfortable calling this attraction ‘love’. So when dogs show an identical brain-chemical response to a person, I’m relaxed about also calling this ‘love’.

Like all dog owners, I am subjected incessantly to the big brown eyes routine

One particular ‘love’ emotion that dogs show is the inner calm and contentment we humans experience when we are in the company of our loved ones. When I return home from work, Plum, my seven-year-old golden retriever, wags her tail, drops her ears, nuzzles against me and brings me her favourite toy. She’s honest with her emotions; overjoyed to see me regardless of whether or not I have a pocket of treats. When I sit on the sofa, she hops up and physically nestles against me. This intimacy is reserved for people she knows well, especially my wife and me. And her love for us is just as obvious when I walk her.

In the park she disappears in her pursuit of excitement but regularly bounds back, touches her head to my hand then runs off again. It’s as if this brief contact reassures her. (To reassure myself, I’ve attached a ‘find my dog’ tag to her collar so I can trace her on my phone.)

My dog’s capacity to experience what in people we call love makes evolutionary sense. Like humans, dogs are a gregarious species, and love is a cohesive emotion that helps us to live and work well together.

Not all dogs are as affectionate as retrievers. Interestingly, the DNA of breeds that are the least dependent and vulnerable, including the chow-chow, Shar Pei, akita and Shiba, is closest to that of the original and more independent Asian wolves from which all dogs descend.

Golden retrievers like Plum are members of a breed developed more recently to help humans retrieve prey. In developing these and similar breeds, including spaniels and shepherds, to work with people, we have selectively bred into them traits such as increased vulnerability and dependence. In doing so, unwittingly we have also encouraged and enhanced in them a capacity for love.

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5 of the most affectionate dog breeds

The most affectionate breeds include those we have selectively created either for companionship or to obey our instructions. Here are five types of dog that are likely to be naturally affectionate.

Retrievers

Both golden and Labrador retrievers were developed to obey commands. Labs do so with a sense of humour. Goldens are more lugubrious with their affection.

Maltese

Small breeds such as the Maltese, bred primarily for companionship, find it easy to become dependent on us. This is akin to the love a child has for its mother.

German shepherds

These were created as a guarding breed but one that follows commands. Their natural obedience can make them surprisingly affectionate with their handlers while at the same time superb working dogs.

Spaniels

All spaniels but especially the working springers and cockers have a thrilling need to please that’s easy for us to read as affection. A divorced friend of mine, in my age band, has a new young cocker that climbs on his lap and gazes lovingly into his eyes. ‘Better than a woman,’ he tells me.

Rescued

Many rescued dogs, because of the trials they have been through, are dependent and clingy. ‘I love you and don’t want you to abandon me,’ is a valid interpretation.

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