In February, the month of love, you may look at your dog and wonder just how much your dog loves you. Dr. Clive D.L. Wynne, a research scientist in canine behavior at Arizona State University, has studied the behavior of dogs and relationships to their humans and looked at this question. 

In one experiment, dogs who are trained to lay still in MRI machines, were shown two things – a sausage and then a sign that their human was coming next. Scientists looked at images of the dogs’ brains, and most of the time, the reward centers lit up the same for the sausage and their human. However, one in five dogs were actually more excited by their human than the sausage! Scientists created a list of what love would look like, which includes the following: 

• Does a dog like someone more than a hotdog?
• Does a dog show acts of service?
• Does a dog show loyalty?
• Does a dog show empathy?  

The experiment discussed above shows they like us at least as much as a hotdog. We also have many examples of dogs showing acts of service through search and rescue, as therapy, guide, and military working dogs. We know they are loyal, and you can think about the number of times your dog has comforted you when you are stressed or sad to know they show empathy. But what about that deep connection that is considered love? 

Scientists conducted another experiment and measured levels of oxytocin (the love hormone) in people and dogs. People sat in the lab with their pets and stared into each other’s eyes. They found both the dog and human had increased levels of oxytocin as they stared at each other, so the love hormone was raised in both. Science is confirming what we already knew. Our dogs love us, and we definitely love them! 

Happy Valentine’s Day to all the loving dogs in our lives! 

To learn more about these studies, watch the episode “Dogs” on the Netflix series, “Explained,” or read the article, Dogs Can’t Help Falling in Love, New York Times.