Our daughters didn’t know what to think the first time I sent out Christmas cards featuring a photo of our dogs. After all, I never put the kids’ pictures on our annual holiday missives when they were young.
But just like a proud new parent, I used computer technology to make my own greeting cards featuring dogs we adopted several years ago.
I wondered: Can pet owners have a bond with pets that is similar to that of a mother and child?
And I am not alone in my preoccupation with my canines. It seems millions of baby boomers are filling our empty nests by replacing our children with pets.
The term “pet parents” is commonly heard in our vernacular these days.
According to a June 2013 report in Science Daily, scientists at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna have investigated the bond between dogs and their owners and found striking similarities to the human parent-child relationship. The Vienna scientists’ findings were published in the journal PLOS ONE, Science Daily reported.
Just as humans have a need to establish close relationships with other people, animals too have an innate need for close ties with their own kind. But the study found that for domesticated animals, the situation is even more complex. Our animals have developed those same relationships with us.
After 15,000 years of living with humans, dogs have adapted so well they have the ability to transfer the connection they would normally have with another dog to a human as their main social partner. The relationship is highly similar to the deep connection between children and their caregivers, according to recent research.
A study conducted by Lisa Horn from the Vetmeduni’s Messerli Research Institute took a closer look at the behavior of dogs and their owners by developing a test to study the dog’s motivation to get a food reward by manipulating an interactive toy, and whether its owner affected the dog’s desire to work for the treat.
Horn studied the dogs under three different conditions: “absent owner,” “silent owner” and “encouraging owner.”
Her study concluded that a dog will work harder for a food reward if it had its “pet parent” in the room, whether the owner remains silent or encourages the animal.
Through a follow-up study, the scientists observed that when the owner was replaced by an unfamiliar person, the dog had little motivation to get the reward, similar to its behavior when there was no one in the room.
The test concluded that the dog was only motivated to behave in a confident manner when the owner was present.
The findings are the first evidence that the so-called “secure base effect” found in child-caregiver relationships are similarly found in dog-owner relationships.
“One of the things that really surprised us is that adult dogs behave towards their caregivers like human children do,” Horn was quoted in Science Daily.
I suspect this is only one reason for our deep psychological connection to our pets. It would be interesting to see a study that determines whether or not we humans have the ability to be as good as our dogs already believe we are.
Lawsuit moves forward
On another note of interest, a federal judge ruled earlier this month that a class-action suit against Del Monte subsidiary Milo’s Kitchen over the sale of the company’s Chinese chicken jerky treats may go forward. Lisa Mazur claims that the treats poisoned and killed dogs last year and despite a U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning about the treats, neither Del Monte nor Milo’s Kitchen recalled the items or put warnings on the label.
Mazur, who filed the suit against the company in 2012, charged her 7-year old dog suffered kidney failure and had to be euthanized after eating the Chinese-made treats for about a month. Mazur is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for all eligible persons who purchased dog treats within the past four years.
Del Monte is one of the nation’s largest producers and distributors of pet foods, netting $3.7 billion in fiscal 2012, according to the complaint and the company’s website.
Other pets in the news
Paws for Golf — The Portage County Animal Protective League is sponsoring a golf outing from noon to 7 p.m. Aug. 3 at the Sugar Bush Golf Club, 11186 State Route 88, Garrettsville. All proceeds benefit the APL and the nearly 1,000 animals rescued and adopted each year. $100, includes an 18-hole scramble, cart, lunch, beverages, gifts, barbecue dinner, skill and door prizes This year’s event honors the memory of Doug Sendry, a board member and animal lover. Dinner only $35. To register call the APL at 330-296-4022.
Kathy Antoniotti writes about pets for the Akron Beacon Journal. She is unable to help locate, place or provide medical attention for an individual animal. If you have an idea or question about pets, write her at the Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640; call 330-996-3565; or send an email to kantoniotti@thebeaconjournal.com.