Seriously, how can you say no to those puppy dog eyes?

My Doggy Desk Calendar today says, ‘Dog’s Never Lie About Love‘ and I couldn’t agree more.

Whether you’re single or in a relationship this Valentine’s Day, know that a dog’s love is unconditional.  They don’t care what you look like, what you’ve done, what’s in your bank account, what kind of car you drive, your friend’s list etc, etc, etc they just love you for you, simple as that.  They sit and listen to you, they don’t back chat and they really don’t want a lot in return, only you and your love.

I remember a time in my singledom (not a real word but I use it) when I was out there in the dating world (geez it can be brutal), I had a guy come to pick me up for a date and he ignored Henry and Isabel!!!!!!  Red Flags for me, he didn’t bother to even pat them or acknowledge them in any way, didn’t ask me about them or anything!!!!!  To me, this was like he just ignored my children; needless to say he never got another date. I’m not saying prospective partners HAVE to love your fur kids the same way as you do (a huge bonus if they do) but they have to at the very least show some interest and respect that they are a huge part of your life.

Thankfully when Dean met Billy it was love at first sight so I’m very lucky that Billy has managed to wrap Dean around his paw, too.

I know most of you reading this post will agree that you love your fur baby unconditionally but it does make you wonder whether or not they really love you back.

I’ve been looking around for proof that dogs actually do love us, not just by us thinking they do but real (safe) experimental evidence of such, so when ‘non dog people’ think we’re crazy in thinking our fur babies do love us, we can point out the evidence that it’s actually true!!!!  So, this is what I found.

On Ceasar’s Way an article by Juliana Weiss-Roessler shares with us the findings of Gregory Berns on 4 Signs That Your dog Really Loves you??

 1. AFTER EATING YOUR DOG CUDDLES WITH YOU

The article suggests that dog’s live in the moment, so when food is available they go after it with relish, but what’s their priority after eating, YOU?  They seek out you.

Billy does this to us all the time, he’s always laying on us on the lounge before and after eating, lol.

2. YOUR DOG ENJOYS SLEEPING WITH YOU

Also, whether just napping on you during the day or sleeping with you on your bed, this is another sign that you’re connected on a social level to your dog/s.  Dogs prefer to be with members of their social group or pack.

As I type, Billy is sitting under the desk on my feet with his ball in his mouth and he sleeps on our bed with us and  can be a bed hog and a bit of a snore whore!!!!

3. YOUR DOG IS HAPPY WHEN YOU COME HOME

If your dog approaches you, tail wagging when you get home you know they’re happy to see you.  This is not the anxious OMG you’re home, it’s the all chilled, Oh Good You’re Home, it’s about time, type of mode.

We don’t make a big deal, to Billy, when we leave the house or straight away when we return, and it seems to have worked.  Billy is a very chilled dog.

However, as we’re driving off I’m all, “I wonder if he’s okay, how bored does he get, will he sleep the whole time we’re gone, let’s get a baby monitor so we can see what he does when we’re not there”!!!!!!

4. YOU LOVE YOUR DOG

If you don’t love your dog how can you expect them to love you in return?  To me, This is putting human reasoning onto our dogs but to a small degree I find it’s true.  Dog’s pick up on energy and scents and they can tell via their sense of smell whether  you’re a dog person or not.

5. YOUR DOG FOLLOWS YOU WHEREVER YOU GO

(this one I added myself).

Billy follows me everywhere, when I’m in the house he’s right behind me, sitting where I type, following me to the bathroom, wherever I am he is.  If we’re both home and Dean is outside and I’m inside, he runs between us checking that we’re both okay but he settles down with me.  That’s love, he’s checking to make sure his pack are safe.

So there’s a small guide to see whether your dog/s really love/s you or not.  Dog’s do have different personalities so some may show these exact signs or have little ones that are true just to them that show you they love you.

To go a step further according to an article on Brain Scans Reveal What Dogs Really Think of Us in Science.Mic, scientists found that dog owners’ aroma actually sparked activation in the ‘reward centre’ of their dog’s brains.  Just think about it, of all the smells to take in, dog’s actually prioritised the hint of their humans over anything or anyone else.

Dog’s navigate the world through their noses, the way they process smell offers a lot of insight into the social behaviour.  When you think about it, dog’s eyes don’t open until around a week after they are born, they navigate their world through their nose, to find their mother.  So to discover that they actually recognised their owner’s smell is awesome as far as I’m concerned.

Behaviour research also supports the fact that dogs interact with their human caregivers in the same way babies do their parents,  for example, when dogs are scared or worried, they run to their owners just as toddlers do.

I have customer’s dogs who are scared at first and they either sit on their owner’s feet or run behind their legs, try to jump onto their laps or into their arms or lean on them, so I’ve seen evidence of this.

This fascinates me because brain scans actually reveal this so it’s not just instinctively knowing your dog loves you, it’s real evidence that they are capable of doing so.  After this I wanted to find more hardcore evidence.

Did you know that apparently, like humans, dogs release the ‘love hormone’ oxytocin, I didn’t know this?

In an article by Helen Horton in the Telegraph UK, she mentions a study conducted by Dr Paul Zak that shows when owners interact with their dogs both human and dog appear to release oxytocin.  Even further, it mentions that humans produce the hormone in our brain when we see our spouse or child etc and levels in our blood stream rises by 40-60%.

In the experiment dogs were tested before and after playing with their owners and results show the hormone increased by an average of 57.2%!!!!!!  Meaning DOGS DO LOVE THEIR HUMANS!!!!!!

Yay this is good news.

So here’s to all the non-dog people who think we’re crazy, OUR DOGS DO LOVE US and now we have proof!!!

I’d love to hear stories of how your fur babies show their love to you?

From our House to Yours

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

J & B @ Woofalicious Tales