I like dogs very much, but it perplexes me when I see people put forth this belief that their dogs love them unconditionally. I was an animal researcher, and did a lot of work on the psychology of dogs in particular. It seems obvious and elementary to me–not even as a researcher but just in interacting with my own dogs as companion animals–that they are pack animals, view me as ‘pack leader’ and provider of food and resources, and are thus subserviant to me by nature so that I don’t eject them from the pack.

I mean, any documentary on wolves will show lower members behaving toward the alpha in the exact same way my dogs behave toward me (ie, needy, cuddly, ‘puppy-ish’, affectionate, playful, submissive). It’s not because they love the alpha, who routinely brutalizes them, it’s because he’s the leader and the consequences of ejection from his favor are dire.

I just think it’s misinformed when people see this behavior and assume that their dogs are capable of unconditional love and are somehow better than humans, or as if it’s something we need to learn from them.

“Your dog does not love you and other cold-nosed truths

by Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune, Thursday, May 07, 2009

Note to Jess Craigie: Your dog still doesn’t love you.

Yes, you jumped into the 40-degree waters of Lake Michigan Tuesday to save her. Paramedics said you were less than five minutes from death when they plucked you and Moxie, your 2-year-old mutt, to safety (story).

It was a foolhardy risk. But, honestly, I’d have done the same thing if I thought my dog was going to drown.

And my dog doesn’t love me, either.

I tell myself she does — that she offers me not just affection, but that rare gift of unconditional love.

But in fact, said author Jon Katz, who has written extensively on the bond between humans and dogs, what she, Moxie and other pets offer is neither unconditional nor love.

“Dogs develop very strong, instinctive attachments to the people who feed and care for them,” said Katz, speaking Wednesday from his farm in upstate New York. “Over 15,000 years of domestication, they’ve learned to trick us into thinking that they love us. ”

What about the nuzzling? The big, adoring eyes? The wagging glee with which they greet us?

They’re all part of what Katz refers to as the “opportunistic, manipulative behavior” that’s second nature to dogs.

Not to say that they’re canine con artists.

“It’s just how their instincts have evolved,” Katz said. Dogs aren’t deceptive any more than they’re sentimental, loyal, nostalgic, witty or bitter.

“They don’t have a narrative mind or the language to have those sorts of human qualities,” said Katz. Imagining otherwise is part of what he calls the “Disney Dog” idea so many of us buy into.

Their attachment is, in fact, “extremely conditional,” Katz said. “They’ll respond to anyone who gives them food and attention. I have a wonderful Labrador retriever who’s very happy here. But if you had hamburger meat on you, she’d gladly go to Chicago with you and never look back.”

I’d been thinking about this subject all week, even before Craigie took the plunge for Moxie

Since Friday, we’ve been taking care of Scout, the beloved mongrel of my vacationing Tribune colleagues Barbara Brotman and Chuck Berman. And she’s shown no sign of pining for them — no loss of appetite or energy, no unsociable behavior.

“Dogs don’t ‘miss’ you when you go away,” said Katz, whose conclusions are supported by university studies of animal behavior. “They might get anxious and confused, but don’t mistake that for loneliness or mourning. As soon as they find someone else to take care of them, they forget you pretty quickly.”

He added, “I don’t mean to imply that dogs aren’t great. I love my dogs. But I don’t need to pretend that they’re like people. That doesn’t do them any good. Dogs are happiest when you treat and train them as dogs, not children.”

I’ll remind Barbara and Chuck of that should they ask for the return of their faithless mutt.

But meanwhile, Jon Katz, moment of truth: Despite your unrequited love, would you leap into an icy Lake Michigan after one of your dogs?

“It’s hard to say,” he allowed. “I’d like to think I wouldn’t; that I’d realize that human life is far more valuable. But watching my dog drown would be very tough.”

Copied from http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2009/05/your-dog-does-not-love-you-and-other-cold-nosed-truths.html

“subservient ” is such a negative way to view a dog. In my opinion. I cannot adopt words like dominant or submissive to describe my relationship to my dogs – it downplays the unmistakable bonds of love. Again, my opinion.

I’m not arguing your opinion, happily retired, you are entitled to it.

My opinion is that my dogs are my equals, though I have thumbs and therefore have certain advantages over them in context, but in no way does that make them subservient and I cannot, and will not, view them as such.

I just had to make a very powerfully unfair decision to end the life of an elderly dog. Then more than ever did I realize how much unconditional love can change you, alter your perception of a companion, a friend. I believe in love, and I believe that my dogs provide me with something a lot like love, and they do so unconditionally. I have other love in my life, the love of human family members, the love of a husband and the love of friends. I feel love for my dogs the same as I do for family and dear friends. The emotion, the affection, the connection is anything but subservient.

Great answer, Zennia!!!

Hi, Jenna. I enjoy your blog very much. 🙂

I listed that article about Katz because he writes a lot about the bond between humans and dog, and if ever there were a dog lover, he’d be it. And while he is a journalist, the science in his writings are quoted from interviews with animal scientists, psychologists, etc, and the opinions he espouses are theirs, not really his. He’s said, “I can’t imagine life without a dog. I don’t think dogs are substitutes for people, but I must confess I often find them more reliable.” I just wanted to put the opinions out there and wanted to use a dog lovers findings to do so. 🙂

I don’t doubt you truly love Snickers and that that feeling benefits you greatly, I’m just saying I believe that’s your response to dogs naturally. You’re very passionate about dogs and that’s great. However, that doesn’t mean dogs demonstrate unconditional love. That’s my quibble with the two posts from your one-question interview. Both state that dogs demonstrate unconditional love.

I have yet to meet a dog that doesn’t ‘love’ and cozy up to anyone who’ll offer food to them–isn’t that the very definition of conditional ‘love’? And what about the identical ‘owner-companion dog’ behavior lower, wild dogs exhibit to alphas in their packs? It’s all instinct. Jenna, you’ve mentioned instinct several times in your archives as explanations for dog behavior; why ignore the obvious instinctual opportunism that companion dogs exhibit–which has served them very well these thousands of years and remained virtually unchanged from their wolf pack days–and embrace this idea that it’s love and not millenia of behavior evolution?