‘Your dog and cat don’t ‘love’ you: Anyone who tries to ‘debunk the myth’ about the nature of pet-owner relationships gets lashed out in return
In the middle of the last decade, it was disappointing to learn that our pets were doing everything in our absence and embarking on epic adventures around the city (thanks to The Secret Life of Pets cartoon series). is). Now that the myth has been debunked, people are already stepping into the belief that the most sacred thing: our pets actually love us unselfishly.
So what about the completely authentic and moving stories of Hachiko, Greyfriars Bobby, and many other examples of a completely committed relationship between animals and humans? Are our pets so happy to welcome us into their home that we just feed and water them? have discussed this issue a few days.
Debate instigator tweeted that, according to her, pets are not really capable of expressing human emotions
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The author of the first tweet thinks pets are just food, they want comfort, they don’t really love us
It all started with a tweet from Bombay, Beijing and London writer Mithila. @PhadkeTai account A few days ago I questioned the sincere love of pets to their owners. The point, as the author of the original tweet has speculated, is that animals cannot express human emotions. Therefore, the original poster (OP) believes that we should not expect sincere expressions of love from our pets.
Mithila states that animals are merely food, seeking comfort or being raised with affection. It’s really just a series of reflexes and instincts. And in general, as they say, the mind is nothing more than an endocrine plaque…
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However, netizens literally put out the opposite opinion on the spot
But Twitter is still Twitter, and if the OP expected unanimous approval and support for her point of view, she was definitely wrong. Most netizens objected to the author, arguing, for example, that in this case a newborn baby cannot love her mother. ”
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People in the comments also very reasonably point out that “love” per se is not a prerogative only for humans. For example, both cat and dog brains release oxytocin when they are with their owners, just like children with their mothers.. In this case, as some commentators put it, people also It’s logical to assume that you don’t know how to love.
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By the way, some participants in the debate directly argue that “humans love food, comfort, reproduction, and oxytocin for exactly the same reasons dogs and cats do.” Do you know? Literally several replies. And now we’ve moved from discussing kittens and dogs to a complete deconstruction of love as one of our basic human emotions.
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Vets in the comments told several stories of animals literally refusing to eat when left by their owners
Anyway, going back to the original topic of the discussion, for example, some commenters with experience in animal hospitals have amazing stories of animals literally refusing to eat out of longing if their owners leave them alone. On the other hand, some people in the comments suggest that humankind first spent hundreds and thousands of years accustoming dogs to be completely dependent on them, and then some of its representatives I believe that pets love dogs simply for what they are.
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There are many studies studying the relationship between animal behavior and humans.
As you can see, the perspectives of the participants in this debate vary widely, and the results of numerous studies cannot fully confirm the correctness of either party. A recent study by Daniel MillsBritish experts in clinical animal behavior have found that cats do not exhibit much of this behavior if dogs treat their owners in much the same way that small children treat their parents. Sometimes I ignored them and happily greeted strangers.
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By the way, this is very reasonable for two reasons. First, dogs have a much longer history of interaction with humans. And if scientists believe dogs were domesticated about 15,000 years ago, cats received (almost) the same treatment about 95,000 years ago. as important as possible. Secondly, the life of cats next to humans was like a mutually beneficial cooperation. I did.
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Most of the results of these studies argue that dogs alone, or cats as well, experience nearly the same emotions toward their owners as human babies expose to their parents.
On the other hand, a 2019 study conducted at Oregon State University’s Human Animal Interaction Lab showed that, conversely, cats form attachments to their owners in a manner similar to dogs.
“Cats are more independent in that they don’t have to be trained to use the litter box in the same way that puppies are broken at home,” says Christine Vitale, lead author of the study. . In an interview with Oregon Public Brodacasting“But that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t use us as a source of security, and that they don’t have affection for people. That’s what we found. Most cats use their owners as a source of security and rely on them for comfort.”
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Perhaps the cunning and thoughtful cats are simply manipulating these naive scientists. In any case, most researchers directly say that animals can experience emotions similar to humans, and that love is definitely one of these emotions. Don’t be afraid to please them, because that’s no excuse not to buy a treat. Or, even better, tell your own story about your wonderful and loving pet in the comments.