Are Dogs Capable Of Love? The Science Of Canine Emotion & Attachment

By Norma Jeanne Laurette

In 2011, I was invited to lecture about K9 Fear & Aggression at the Chienposium at Maisonneuve College in Montreal, Quebec. During my presentation I introduced Greg Ceci’s K9 Hierarchy Of Needs ©2010.

​After my lecture I was questioned about the third tier – Love/Belonging (Socialization). The question was if I believed that dogs were capable of love or if this is an example of anthropomorphism, which means applying human-like characteristics, emotions or intentions to animals, objects or natural phenomena. 

Because this was many years ago I don’t remember my exact response, but I did say that I do believe dogs are capable of love. I’ve thought about his question many times over the years and the more I’ve observed dogs in my work and life, the more convinced I’ve become of their emotional capacity and that their loyalty and ability to bond and empathize is real.

Some skeptics argue that dogs don’t really love us – they just respond to food, attention, routine, and conditioning. But is that all there is to the human-canine bond? I know without a doubt that we love our dogs but do our dogs really love us? Mounting scientific evidence suggests that our dogs may not only form deep emotional connections with us but also genuinely love us in a way that’s biologically and emotionally authentic. 

It’s already been scientifically proven that dogs experience similar emotions to humans including anxiety, fear, affection and joy, which supports the finding that dogs are sentient and capable of forming deep emotional bonds with people and other animals R14. So why not love?

To support this we must first define what the word ‘love’ means, which is a question many have struggled with including myself. One thing we can all agree on is that the definition of love can vary greatly from person to person due to beliefs and experiences. If we can’t define what love is, how can we determine whether or not dogs share this complex psychological and physiological state. 

For people, love is not just an emotion because emotions are not constant, they wax and wane and change constantly yet love can remain throughout. We can be angry with someone and still love them – but our emotions during that time would not feel ‘loving’. Love can endure beyond the intensity of initial emotions because as infatuation fades, mature love often deepens into feelings of trust, respect and commitment. While these emotions may lack the early excitement, they can reflect a more lasting and meaningful bond. Love can persist even after the initial spark fades because it’s rooted in connection, intention, and choice – not just feelings. Psychologist Robert Sternberg defines love as a mix of intimacy, passion, and commitment R1. 

While some skeptics argue that love is unique to humans, I believe dogs also experience a form of love, which is evident through their deep social bonds. Ethologist Ádám Miklósi describes canine love as a species-specific form of attachment, marked by proximity seeking, stress during separation and joy upon reunion R3. 

To prove my thesis one needs to understand that both humans and dogs are affected by the hormones oxytocin and dopamine. In dogs, oxytocin is responsible for trust and bonding with people and other animals. Dopamine is responsible for pleasure, motivation, learning and the perception of reward R2. When dogs and people gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes or we stroke our dogs, both experience a surge of oxytocin, which strengthens our bond and mutual trust in a form of biological feedback loop. Stroking a dog increases oxytocin while reducing its cortisol levels and heart rate, meaning that it feels pleasure, which nurtures physical and emotional wellbeing R9. A dog’s caudate nucleus (an area of the brain tied to reward) lights up when it smells the scent of a person or animal it’s bonded with, which indicates not just recognition but also pleasure and an emotional connection R5.

Dogs have been observed approaching people and other animals that are upset, crying or in distress proving that they have the emotional capacity for empathy R7. They exhibit behaviours similar to human infants in the ‘Strange Situation’ test – in that they become distressed when separated from a person they are attached to and happy when they return. Researchers, psychologists and animal behaviourists consider this evidence of secure attachment, which describes a strong and healthy emotional bond of care, comfort and connection. Secure attachment is one of the best scientific indicators that dogs can experience something very close to love for people and other animals.

Because of their strong social drive, dogs isolated without companionship are prone to loneliness, stress and anxiety R8. Dogs that have a strong and trusting bond with their guardians learn faster and experience a lot less stress. Emotionally neglected dogs are much more likely to develop a myriad of behaviour problems including but not limited to fear. This suggests that dogs also need our love R10.

Science proposes that dogs know how long someone’s been gone due to the fading intensity of their scent, which can cause emotional longing for the person or animal they’ve bonded with. Dogs have up to 300 million scent receptors as opposed to our 6 million making their sense of smell 10,000 to 100,000 times better than ours. Cognitive scientist Alexandra Horowitz suggests that dogs use scent decay as a proxy for time, explaining why many dogs get excited just before their owners return home and implies that our dogs missing us or other animals is sensory-driven R11 R12 R15.

While skeptics claim that attributing love to dogs is anthropomorphism, growing scientific evidence continues to dispute this view. Studies have proven that dogs experience a range of emotions similar to humans and that they form strong emotional bonds with people and other animals. Love, while complex and difficult to define is more than a fleeting emotion – it involves trust, commitment and a lasting connection. When viewed through this perspective, dogs clearly display love-like behaviours, which is supported by neurological and hormonal research. Dogs comfort us in distress, grieve our absence and thrive on social connection. Rooted in biology, emotion and choice, these behaviours clearly resemble the fundamental aspects of love. Perhaps the question is not whether dogs are capable of love, but whether people are ready to open their minds and expand their definition to fully acknowledge what dogs so clearly show us every day. I think Mahatma Gandhi said it best when he said, “Where there is love there is life”.

References

​R1: Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological Review, 93(2), 119–135. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.93.2.119
R2: Young, L. J., & Wang, Z. (2004). The neurobiology of pair bonding. Nature Neuroscience, 7(10), 1048–1054. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1327
R3: Miklósi, Á. (2007). Dog behaviour, evolution, and cognition. Oxford University Press.
R4: Nagasawa, M., Mitsui, S., En, S., Ohtani, N., Ohta, M., Sakuma, Y., … & Kikusui, T. (2015). Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds. Science, 348(6232), 333–336. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1261022
R5: Berns, G. S., Brooks, A. M., & Spivak, M. (2015). Scent of the familiar: An fMRI study of canine brain responses to familiar and unfamiliar human and dog odors. Behavioural Processes, 110, 37–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2014.02.011
R6: Topál, J., Miklósi, Á., Csányi, V., & Dóka, A. (1998). Attachment behaviour in dogs (Canis familiaris): A new application of Ainsworth’s (1969) strange situation test. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 112(3), 219–229. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7036.112.3.219
R7: Custance, D., & Mayer, J. (2012). Empathic-like responding by domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) to distress in humans: An exploratory study. Animal Cognition, 15(5), 851–859. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-012-0510-1
R8: Rooney, N. J., Gaines, S. A., & Bradshaw, J. W. S. (2007). Behavioural and glucocorticoid responses of dogs (Canis familiaris) to kennelling: Investigating mitigation of stress by prior habituation. Physiology & Behaviour, 92(5), 847–854. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.06.011
R9: Handlin, L., Nilsson, A., Ejdebäck, M., Hydbring-Sandberg, E., & Uvnäs-Moberg, K. (2011). Associations between the psychological characteristics of the human–dog relationship and oxytocin and cortisol levels. Anthrozoös, 24(3), 301–315. https://doi.org/10.2752/175303711X13045914865385
R10: Serpell, J. A., & Jagoe, J. A. (1995). Early experience and the development of behaviour. In J. Serpell (Ed.), The domestic dog: Its evolution, behaviour and interactions with people (pp. 79–102). Cambridge University Press.
R11: Horowitz, A. (2010). Inside of a dog: What dogs see, smell, and know. Scribner.
R12: Horowitz, A. (2016). Being a dog: Following the dog into a world of smell. Scribner.
R13: Prato-Previde, E., Custance, D. M., Spiezio, C., & Sabatini, F. (2003). Is the dog–human relationship an attachment bond? An observational study using Ainsworth’s strange situation. Behaviour, 140(2), 225–254.
R14: R7. Berns, G. S., Brooks, A. M., & Spivak, M. (2012). Functional MRI in awake unrestrained dogs. PLOS ONE, 7(5), e38027.
R15: Horowitz, A. (2016). Being a dog: Following the dog into a world of smell. Scribner.
This book details canine olfaction, including the anatomy and function of the dog’s nose and brain, highlighting that dogs have around 220 million olfactory receptors compared to about 5–6 million in humans.

​Photo By Norma Jeanne Laurette