I don’t know if dogs feel the same thing that we do, but I don’t think that matters. As mentioned, a dog “loves” its family because the dog makes a pack relationship with its family. A dog recognizes that his pack/family relationship is different than the relationship it has with the rest of the world. As such, it is loyal to the pack, misses its pack members, attempts to help other pack members when they are in distress, and generally has a mutually beneficial relationship with its pack members. If that isn’t the same thing as the human version, it certainly displays all the characteristics we attribute to the feeling such that it is for all intents and purposes indistinguishable from it.
INSCRIPTION ON THE MONUMENT
OF A NEWFOUNDLAND DOG.
A Memorial to Boatswain
by
Lord Byron
Newstead Abbey, November 30, 1808.
Near this spot
Are deposited the Remains of one
Who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferocity,
And all the Virtues of Man without his Vices.
This Praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery
If inscribed over human ashes,
Is but a just tribute to the Memory of
BOATSWAIN, a DOG
Who was born at Newfoundland, May, 1803,
And died at Newstead, Nov 18th, 1808.
When some proud son of man returns to earth,
Unknown to glory, but upheld by birth,
The sculptor’s art exhausts the pomp of woe,
And storied urns record who rest below:
When all is done, upon the tomb is seen,
Not what he was, but what he should have been:
But the poor dog, in life the firmest friend,
The first to welcome, foremost to defend,
Whose honest heart is still his master’s own,
Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone,
Unhonour’d falls, unnoticed all his worth,
Denied in heaven the soul he held on earth:
While man, vain insect! hopes to be forgiven,
And claims himself a sole exclusive heaven.
Oh man! thou feeble tenant of an hour,
Debased by slavery, or corrupt by power,
Who knows thee well must quit thee with disgust,
Degraded mass of animated dust!
Thy love is lust, thy friendship all a cheat,
Thy smiles hypocrisy, thy words deceit!
By nature vile, ennobled but by name,
Each kindred brute might bid thee blush for shame.
Ye! who perchance behold this simple urn,
Pass on — it honours none you wish to mourn:
To mark a friend’s remains these stones arise;
I never knew but one, — and here he lies.
The dog has lived with man for longer than any other species, and closer to man than any other, as well. They are closer to us than the chimpanzee, for we, in a very real way, evolved together, socially. We became human, sentient, sapient, with the dog as our companion and ally.
Is it truly that strange to think we have not affected them as well? If any animal can love like humans do, it must be the dog. (Independently, the elephant and chimpanzee appear to show signs of it, as well.) But the dog, of all the animals, is most like us. We can communicate best with him, and he with us.
Or perhaps, we are most like him.
Either way, the only way to deny that dogs love, is to follow the same path that denies other humans think. I know I think… but I can not prove you do. But you act like it, and so I must give you the faith and credit you do.
And the dog is the same way.
Here is love, from a dog’s point of view.
There are better places to watch TV from. Goodness knows, less bumpy places. But…
Am I the only one who finds it amusing that someone called Katz is criticising dogs? 
I’d go with that. I can understand people being a bit purist about the word ‘love’ and saying that it only applies to humans - especially humans over a certain age - but that doesn’t mean dogs can’t love people in their own way. It’s certainly not just ‘you give me food, I act as though I love you.’
Like this:
It’s an attachment bond which goes far beyond simple provision of sustenance. It’s worth a hell of a lot in itself even if you don’t believe it reaches the level of human love - and, of course, human love has multiple levels too.
Along with this…
Even from a biological perspective we share more in common than is different. These are not some alien creatures that have zero in common with us. Our biology is more similar than different. Go far enough back we even have a common ancestor (way back admittedly but there). They have four limbs, two eyes, two ears, nose, mouth, brain that looks like ours, reproduce the same way and so on.
They are social creatures as we are. They are social in a way that makes them uniquely suited in the animal kingdom to be our companions. It is not an accident that dogs have had such a close relationship to humans over the millennium. Other animals have been very important to us as well but none so close across most cultures as the dog.
They display a huge range of emotions that are all immediately identifiable to humans. No one mistakes when a dog is angry. Are we anthropomorphizing “anger” on the dog? Of course not. The dog’s emotion is clear for all to see and you will learn the hard way if you ignore it thinking you are just applying a human emotion to the dog which is not really experiencing that emotion.
Whatever “love” is defined as there is no reason to suppose dogs do not experience it too. Whatever combo of emotions adds up to “love” there is zero reason to think it is any different for a dog. If they are just parasites sponging off the dumb humans it would still manifest in the doggie mind as love. To think otherwise would be to ascribe even greater cognitive abilities on the dog. They are just cleverly planning to look cute and fool their keepers so they keep feeding them.
C’mon…
The best answer is they feel love. Even if you want to take the cynical view that it is just a mechanism for survival the mechanism works best when it plays out as “love” and not some cynical thought process to get treats. More, the very same could be said of humans.
I honestly believe that anyone who thinks otherwise either has never had a dog and/or are defective in their thought processes to miss/ignore what is right in front of them. If you’ve had a loving dog it is near impossible to miss it.
This too. It reminds me of people who say tiny babies (like, 3 months old) are crying for attention in a manipulative way. C’mon, just how clever do you think these babies are? Manipulation is a pretty advanced mental strategy!
Dogs are smart in dog ways, but they’re not capable of manipulation like humans are. If they act like they love a human, it’s because, in a dog way if you want to be that exact, they love that human. They’re not planning their actions based on subtle emotional interactions.
So, basically I’m a retard if I don’t share your opinion, eh? Nice.
What I want is to respect a dog’s nature for what it is, and not limit it by requiring it to conform to human standards. But anyway, you’ve made up your mind.
On the other hand, if you’ve ever spent any time watching COPS, you may have seen people being taken away in handcuffs in the backseat of the cruiser, screaming out the window at their bloodied spouse, proclaiming “I love you, baby!” And in some cases, I believe that the person really does love the spouse … and yet continues to throw glassware and other household items at the spouse.
So for both humans and other animals, I’ve decided to throw my weight behind behavior. If the dog (or in my case, cat) acts in a way that feels like love, I’m going to go with that. I can’t read the animal’s mind … I can’t even read another person’s mind, so I’m more comfortable basing my responses on the actions.
Jumping off track a little, I’m curious about the initial letter about the woman saving the dog. It’s fine (in theory, I guess, I don’t know how much she endangered herself or others) to save your dog because you believe your dog loves you … but I think most people would do it for the other reason, because the person loves the dog.
You are assuming we are attributing things to the dog it does not possess.
Can you tell when a dog is angry? Scared? Happy?
I can. It is abundantly obvious. I am not anthropomorphizing when I see these things. They are recognizable emotions because we share them and we recognize them correctly. Why would love be a special case?
Now, I do not expect a dog to behave like a human when the dog is (say) scared. I expect it to behave like a scared dog. Humans are very unlikely to bite you when scared. A dog very well might. That is accepting the dog’s nature.
If you refuse to accept the evidence of your own eyes then yeah…something is wrong with you.
If I learned that by showing up at a certain time at a certain location I’d be fed by all the nice people, I’d make a habit of it for ten years, too, prior owner or no.
Wow. You’re a real class act.
Why do you think this is a matter of opinion? It’s a question of fact; dogs either do or do not feel love for their owners. The hard part, of course, is defining love (is it observable behavior? Is it an intellectual process? Is it a chemical cocktail in the brain?), and possibly agreeing on what percentage of dogs observed must meet these criteria to arrive at a conclusion about the whole species. But once are terms are defined, only one answer can remain. We may not have arrived at that point, and we may not have the resources to test it, but that doesn’t make it any less factual.
I’m not meaning to be facetious, but what is a position on an issue of unknown veracity if not an opinion?
Foolishness.
While that’s true, in a case where you’re having a conversation on a discussion board about facts unknown, what you’re really discussing is what, in peoples’ opinion, the fact is.
Otherwise, what’s the point of talking? It’s not merely a factual exchange mechanism.
Well, that’s your opinion.
No, we’re gathering people’s observations, and hashing out definitions of terms.
Really, were you people not taught the difference between fact and opinion in third grade? We spent quite a bit of time on it. An opinion is *not *simply a fact you cannot prove. In addition to unprovability, an opinion is subjective, and equally true opinions can be derived from one set of facts.
A fact is a pragmatic truth, a statement that can, at least in theory, be checked and either confirmed or denied. “It is raining outside” is a fact, whether or not your or I can open a window and see if it’s true. Theoretically, we could prove it, if we had the resources to do so.
An opinion is a belief that may or may not be backed up with evidence, but which cannot be proved with that evidence. An opinion is neither right nor wrong. It is normally a subjective statement and may be the result of an emotion or an interpretation of facts; people may draw opposing opinions from the same facts. “Rain feels good” is an opinion - you or I may have equally true and opposite opinions about it.
“It’s raining outside” and “It’s not raining outside” cannot both be true for the same set of facts. Neither can “Dogs love their owners” and “Dogs are incapable of loving their owners” both be true.
We’re exchanging a convoukted mixture of fact, opinion and, yes, observations.
Dunno. Not sure what third grade is.
Fortunately, I never claimed it was.
No, they can’t. You are correct. You are also not contradicting anything I said, although I get the sense that you feel you are doing so in some way. I’m not even clear on what your point of disagreement is, other than going off on a long description of what a “fact” is. I agree with you that there is a factual answer to the question; also that I don’t know the factual answer to that question; and therefore, like everyone else, choose to exchange opinions on the subject.
I’m simply saying that people are exchanging opinions in this thread; and that that is perfectly fine.
In my opinion, dogs do love their owners. I am of the opinion that my dog loves me. I do not know for sure, and, while I recognise that there is a factual answer to that question, the answer to which I am not privy, I can certainly opine on the matter.
It is, as you would define it, “a belief not proved by the evidence”. But an integral part of conversation.
Why can’t I find a clip of the closing minutes of “Jurassic Bark?” That answers the question once and for all…
There’s the “Aida/Sally Hemmings” argument: Love can’t exist between two people of vastly unequal status, especially if one owns the other and can use, exploit or kill it with no consequences.
Also, dogs lick your face because they like the salt traces in your sweat.
They might love us, but you have to really dumb down the definition of “love.”