Embrace Your Dog's Love This Valentine's
Hello, and welcome back.
This weekend, have you spent some extra time with your dog? And while doing so, have you felt more relaxed and content? That’s not just because they provide you with opportunities for fun and adventures! Did you know that just by being with your dog, you could be boosting the lovely hormone oxytocin - which is often referred to as the “love” or “hug” hormone?
Researchers in Japan found that just by looking at each other, humans and dogs experienced a spike in the hormone oxytocin. It is the same hormone that surges in mothers and babies when they exchange looks, and has a role in maternal bonding, trust and altruism.
In the mother-child bond, regular touch also increases levels of oxytocin. So too, can our levels increase when we stroke our dogs. Simply by spending time feeling your dog’s fur under your fingers you will feel all the better for it.
While touch and gaze can strengthen the bond we have with our dogs and the feelings of love we experience, we must remember to respect how our dogs feel about these interactions. Just as we may prefer one form of affection over another, so do our dogs. Some may find a direct gaze intimidating. Others may have found the experience of being handled by a human difficult in the past - and so need time to learn to enjoy this.
In creating a relationship of mutual love and respect with our dogs, it’s important we learn to watch and understand them. If we look at them directly, do they avert their gaze or perhaps roll onto their back? If we stroke them on their head to they duck down?
The 3-second rule as a “touch test” is great to employ in deciphering if your dog is enjoying a cuddle session as much as you are. Start by stroking your dog 3 times - the best way being calm, rhythmic stokes down your dog’s side or on their chest, avoiding their head. Now stop and remove your hand. Does your dog snuggle in for more? Or do they move - or look - away? Be guided by their request for you to stop or to carry on.
On Valentine’s Day tomorrow, enjoy some extra time bonding with your dog - whether that be through gaze, touch, or perhaps cooking them a special treat - just make sure it’s time you both benefit from.
Until next time, enjoy those feelings of love.
Caroline