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“Your Dog And Cat Do Not ‘Love’ You”: Person Attempts To ‘Debunk Myth’ On The Nature Of Pet-Owner Relationships, Gets Slammed Heavily In Return
In the middle of the last decade, we were dismayed to learn that our pets were doing everything in our absence and getting up to epic adventures around the city (thanks to The Secret Life of Pets cartoon series). Now the debunking of myths goes on, and people are already encroaching on the most sacred – on the belief that our pets actually love us selflessly and disinterestedly.
Wait, so what about the completely authentic and touching stories of Hachiko, Greyfriars Bobby and many other examples of the completely devoted relationship of animals to people? Does it really all come down to instinct, and our pets welcome us home so joyfully just because we feed and water them? Twitter has been debating this issue for days.
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The debate instigator tweeted that, according to her, pets aren’t really capable of human emotions
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The author of the initial tweet believes that pets are just food and comfort-motivated and don’t truly love us
It all started with a tweet by Bombay-Beijing-London writer Mithila, who, on her @PhadkeTai account a few days ago, questioned the sincere love of pets for their owners. The whole point, as the author of the original tweet presumes, is that animals aren’t capable of human emotion. Accordingly, the Original Poster (OP) believes, one should not expect manifestations of sincere love from pets.
Mithila states that animals are simply food and comfort-motivated or have been bred to be affectionate. Hence, what we are accustomed to a little selfishly consider love, in fact, is nothing more than a set of reflexes and instincts. And in general, as they say, the psyche is just a plaque on the endocrine glands…
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However, netizens put forth the opposite viewpoints literally on the spot
However, Twitter is still Twitter, and if the OP was expecting unanimous approval and support for her point of view, then she was definitely wrong. Most netizens opposed the author, arguing that, for example, in this case, a newborn baby cannot love their mother – because, after all, they are “also provided food and comfort, and doesn’t do much else besides react positively to it.”
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People in the comments also quite reasonably noted that “love” as such is not an exclusively human privilege – after all, for example, cat and dog brains both release oxytocin when they’re with their owners in a manner similar to children with their mothers. In this case, it would be logical, as some commenters say, to assume that people also do not know how to love.
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By the way, some participants in the discussion claim so directly – “human beings love for the same exact reasons that dogs and cats do – food, comfort, reproduction, oxytocin.” You know what’s great about Twitter debates? Literally a few replies – and now we have moved from discussing kitties and doggos to a total deconstruction of love as one of the basic human feelings.
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Vets in the comments told several stories of how animals literally refused to eat when left by their owners
And anyway, if we return to the original topic of the discussion, then some commenters who have experience in animal hospitals, for example, give amazing stories of how animals literally refuse to eat out of longing when the owners leave them alone. On the other hand, some people in the comments notice that humanity first spent hundreds and thousands of years accustoming dogs to be completely dependent on them, and then some of its representatives believe that their pets love them simply for what they are.
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There are numerous studies researching animal behavior and their relationships with humans
As you can see, the points of view of the participants of this discussion differ greatly, and the results of numerous studies cannot absolutely confirm the correctness of any of the parties. For example, a recent study conducted by Daniel Mills, a British specialist in clinical animal behavior, found that if dogs do treat their owners in much the same way that small children treat their parents, then cats do not show much of this behavior. Moreover, sometimes cats just ignored their owners and happily greeted strangers.
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This, by the way, is quite reasonable on two grounds. Firstly, dogs have a much longer history of interaction with humans. And if scientists believe that dogs were domesticated about 15K years ago, then cats got (almost) the same treatment about 9.5K thousand years ago. The difference of more than five thousand years is, you see, incredibly significant. Secondly, the life of cats next to humans was more like a mutually beneficial cooperation – after all, they did not lose their hunting skills, exterminating rodents that harmed the household.
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Most of the results of these studies claim that either only dogs, or cats as well, experience nearly the same emotions towards owners like human babies expose towards their parents
On the other hand, in 2019 a study was conducted at the Human-Animal Interaction Lab at Oregon State University, the results of which, on the contrary, show that cats form attachments to their owners in ways similar to dogs – and even babies.
“Cats are more independent in the way that we don’t have to train them to use the litter box the same way we have to housebreak a puppy,” says Kristyn Vitale, the lead author of the study, in her interview to Oregon Public Brodacasting. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t use us as a source of security and that they aren’t affectionate towards people. That’s what we’re finding: The majority of cats do use their owners as a source of security and rely on them for comfort.”
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Perhaps the cunning and prudent cats are simply manipulating these naive scientists, who knows? Be that as it may, most researchers directly say that animals are capable of experiencing emotions similar to human ones, and love is definitely one of these emotions. However, this is no reason not to buy your doggo a treat on the way home, so feel free to please them, and, of course, write what you personally think about all this. Or better yet, tell your own story about your wonderful and loving pets in the comments.
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What do you think ?
Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
Imagine gatekeeping love as a solely human emotion. I feel sad for this person that they've never experienced the unconditional love of a pet.
RafCo (he/him/ele) 2 years ago
Speaking from a purely philosophical point of view, it is impossible to truly know the mind of another. This is more true when taking about an alien mind, like that of another species. Similarly, there's a danger of personification. A dog is not a person. However, it's possible to look at behavior, and state, this behavior presents itself as love. I cannot be 100% confident that it is, but I cannot say that it isn't either. The behavior presents itself like love. Does anything else matter? My dog prefers me to all others in the house. I feed and walk her, and give her lots of affection. I can't prove that it's "love", but nobody can prove it isn't either.
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Jo March's Red Fox 2 years ago
Why do people want to p**s all over what might be someone's ONLY happy thing?
censorshipsucks 2 years ago
so she doesn't feel guilty about her next steak.
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CHRISTY SMITH 2 years ago (edited)
This was truly idiotic, she didn't even bother to check the tests that have taken place that shows our animals adore the hell out of us and vice versa. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jul/16/do-our-pets-ever-really-love-us-or-do-they-just-stick-around-for-the-food https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle "To storge, familial love. It won’t surprise you to learn that dogs, more than any other pet, exhibit oodles of this form of love for us. And, unlike most other pets, these attachments have been the subject of many scientific studies. The science confirms what we knew all along, that most dogs actively choose proximity to humans and, within a few months of being born, a puppy’s attraction is clearly toward people rather than other dogs. Dogs exhibit varying degrees of separation anxiety when their humans temporarily leave them. Blood pressure rates in dogs lower when they are being stroked by us. It is a form of storge that we share with one another. No question."
Benita Valdez 2 years ago
If you remove humans then can animals show love for one another? There have been plenty of examples of mother dogs getting depressed after their pups were taken away so that right there shows they are capable of some type of complex emotions. How does that depression relate to food or affection motivation? It doesn't. You can find videos even on reddit of a dog being brought back her puppies and the pure joy and excitement when she was reunited clearly shows some deep affection that is well beyond motivation. Maybe it's not love we know but it's love.
Bill Tinsley 2 years ago
My stepbrothers were playing in the yard when we were kids and we had 3 labradors (a female and her two daughters, all grown). One of the daughters started acting really weird and started growling. She jumped in front of my stepbrother right as a cottonmouth (a very venomous snake species that is common in Florida) lunged to strike him and Blanka took the bite right on her snout. Her face swelled up but she eventually made a full recovery. As my stepbrother was only 10 at the time the bite could've killed him and his dog saved him. If that's not the love of a pet I don't know what is!
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
When I was a toddler, we had a St Bernard named Heidi. We lived in a rural area, but on a main route into town, so kind of a busy road. Our front yard had a fence with a gate onto the road. One day, my mother took me out to the front porch with her to sit outside and play while she read a magazine. Heidi went with us. The phone rang, and my mother told me to stay where I was while she answered the phone. Of course I didn’t, and headed right down the front path to the gate leading to the road. Suddenly 150 lbs of St Bernard zoomed past me and sat down right in front of the gate, followed a few seconds later by my mother. No way I could’ve moved Heidi out of the way and gotten out of that gate, so she basically saved my life that day. Needless to say, Heidi was the world’s greatest hero in my mother’s eyes from then on (mine too, but later in life, when I realized just how dangerous my toddler plan to get to that gate was—-if not for Heidi, I might not be here to tell the story). My mother would always sing her praises and set aside any good leftovers, especially beef bones, for her as treats, for years until the day Heidi passed on. If saving my life wasn’t Heidi showing how much she loved me, then I guess I don’t know what the love of a dog is.
Load More Replies... Steve 2 years ago
Influencers can't love you. They are motivated by a desperate need for attention, low self-esteem and extreme narcissism
Cyndielouwhoo 2 years ago
Some humans aren't anywhere as genuine as pets are when it comes to affection.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
In my life, I have experienced deliberate cruelty only from humans. Never ever from dogs or cats. Or any other animals kept as pets, for that matter. (Though I’ve never known anyone who kept like rattlesnakes or something. Actually, I’m really glad I’ve never known someone who kept poisonous snakes as pets. TBH, I really wouldn’t want to know someone like that, or be around their “pets”, either.)
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AndThenICommented 2 years ago
Imagine being so miserable in your life that you can’t understand love and connection. I can only think what her human relationships are like. Mathila (OP) I feel sorry for you.
Der Kommissar 2 years ago
Dogs know when you are sad and try to comfort you. They are not expecting treats.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
They’re also pretty good judges of character, and I mean they’re usually absolutely spot on correct, even when someone has managed to fool you into thinking they’re OK. If you have someone over to your house, and your dog takes an obvious instant disliking to them, better to be safe than sorry—-believe the dog, get the person out of your house ASAP, and don’t ever allow them to come back again. You might find out, on down the line, that they hurt someone they fooled, who either didn’t have a dog, or just didn’t believe what they were seeing when their dog instantly hated them the minute they came through the door.
Load More Replies... Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
Imagine gatekeeping love as a solely human emotion. I feel sad for this person that they've never experienced the unconditional love of a pet.
RafCo (he/him/ele) 2 years ago
Speaking from a purely philosophical point of view, it is impossible to truly know the mind of another. This is more true when taking about an alien mind, like that of another species. Similarly, there's a danger of personification. A dog is not a person. However, it's possible to look at behavior, and state, this behavior presents itself as love. I cannot be 100% confident that it is, but I cannot say that it isn't either. The behavior presents itself like love. Does anything else matter? My dog prefers me to all others in the house. I feed and walk her, and give her lots of affection. I can't prove that it's "love", but nobody can prove it isn't either.
Load More Replies... Jo March's Red Fox 2 years ago
Why do people want to p**s all over what might be someone's ONLY happy thing?
censorshipsucks 2 years ago
so she doesn't feel guilty about her next steak.
Load More Replies... CHRISTY SMITH 2 years ago (edited)
This was truly idiotic, she didn't even bother to check the tests that have taken place that shows our animals adore the hell out of us and vice versa. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jul/16/do-our-pets-ever-really-love-us-or-do-they-just-stick-around-for-the-food https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle "To storge, familial love. It won’t surprise you to learn that dogs, more than any other pet, exhibit oodles of this form of love for us. And, unlike most other pets, these attachments have been the subject of many scientific studies. The science confirms what we knew all along, that most dogs actively choose proximity to humans and, within a few months of being born, a puppy’s attraction is clearly toward people rather than other dogs. Dogs exhibit varying degrees of separation anxiety when their humans temporarily leave them. Blood pressure rates in dogs lower when they are being stroked by us. It is a form of storge that we share with one another. No question."
Benita Valdez 2 years ago
If you remove humans then can animals show love for one another? There have been plenty of examples of mother dogs getting depressed after their pups were taken away so that right there shows they are capable of some type of complex emotions. How does that depression relate to food or affection motivation? It doesn't. You can find videos even on reddit of a dog being brought back her puppies and the pure joy and excitement when she was reunited clearly shows some deep affection that is well beyond motivation. Maybe it's not love we know but it's love.
Bill Tinsley 2 years ago
My stepbrothers were playing in the yard when we were kids and we had 3 labradors (a female and her two daughters, all grown). One of the daughters started acting really weird and started growling. She jumped in front of my stepbrother right as a cottonmouth (a very venomous snake species that is common in Florida) lunged to strike him and Blanka took the bite right on her snout. Her face swelled up but she eventually made a full recovery. As my stepbrother was only 10 at the time the bite could've killed him and his dog saved him. If that's not the love of a pet I don't know what is!
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
When I was a toddler, we had a St Bernard named Heidi. We lived in a rural area, but on a main route into town, so kind of a busy road. Our front yard had a fence with a gate onto the road. One day, my mother took me out to the front porch with her to sit outside and play while she read a magazine. Heidi went with us. The phone rang, and my mother told me to stay where I was while she answered the phone. Of course I didn’t, and headed right down the front path to the gate leading to the road. Suddenly 150 lbs of St Bernard zoomed past me and sat down right in front of the gate, followed a few seconds later by my mother. No way I could’ve moved Heidi out of the way and gotten out of that gate, so she basically saved my life that day. Needless to say, Heidi was the world’s greatest hero in my mother’s eyes from then on (mine too, but later in life, when I realized just how dangerous my toddler plan to get to that gate was—-if not for Heidi, I might not be here to tell the story). My mother would always sing her praises and set aside any good leftovers, especially beef bones, for her as treats, for years until the day Heidi passed on. If saving my life wasn’t Heidi showing how much she loved me, then I guess I don’t know what the love of a dog is.
Load More Replies... Steve 2 years ago
Influencers can't love you. They are motivated by a desperate need for attention, low self-esteem and extreme narcissism
Cyndielouwhoo 2 years ago
Some humans aren't anywhere as genuine as pets are when it comes to affection.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
In my life, I have experienced deliberate cruelty only from humans. Never ever from dogs or cats. Or any other animals kept as pets, for that matter. (Though I’ve never known anyone who kept like rattlesnakes or something. Actually, I’m really glad I’ve never known someone who kept poisonous snakes as pets. TBH, I really wouldn’t want to know someone like that, or be around their “pets”, either.)
Load More Replies... AndThenICommented 2 years ago
Imagine being so miserable in your life that you can’t understand love and connection. I can only think what her human relationships are like. Mathila (OP) I feel sorry for you.
Der Kommissar 2 years ago
Dogs know when you are sad and try to comfort you. They are not expecting treats.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
They’re also pretty good judges of character, and I mean they’re usually absolutely spot on correct, even when someone has managed to fool you into thinking they’re OK. If you have someone over to your house, and your dog takes an obvious instant disliking to them, better to be safe than sorry—-believe the dog, get the person out of your house ASAP, and don’t ever allow them to come back again. You might find out, on down the line, that they hurt someone they fooled, who either didn’t have a dog, or just didn’t believe what they were seeing when their dog instantly hated them the minute they came through the door.
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