Can dogs love? Does it matter?
There’s an interesting discussion unfolding in the Windy City – a drama in, basically, three parts.
Scene One: For the love of her dog, Jess Craigie dives into the icy waters of Lake Michigan to save her 2-year-old mutt, Moxie, who had uncharacteristically, while off leash, jumped in the water. Dog and owner are both rescued, and are now doing fine.
Scene Two: Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune writer, showing some moxie of his own, uses the much publicized event as the basis for a column entitled, “Your Dog Doesn’t Love You” — one that starts, snarkily enough, this way:
“Note to Jess Craigie: Your dog still doesn’t love you.”
The piece goes on to explain that dogs don’t feel love — unconditional or otherwise. What we mistake for love is all an act they put on to get fed. Zorn cites no scientific studies, but he does quote the prolific author of dog books, Jon Katz.
Scene Three: The readers, Craigie included, respond — most taking issue with Zorn’s conclusions. A few leash law sticklers take the opportunity to point out Moxie would have never gone into the water if she had been on her leash. But, mostly, readers take Zorn to task for his cold-hearted view. A reader poll shows 9 out of 10 voters do think dogs can love.
It all makes for some thought-provoking and entertaining reading — even though the whole debate is a bit off point.
Craigie didn’t dive into the water because of Moxie’s love for her, but for her love of Moxie.
Posted by jwoestendiek May 8th, 2009 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animals, anthropomorphic, anthropomorphism, can dogs love, chicago, dog, dogs, emotions, eric zorn, humans, jess craigie, jon katz, lake michigan, love, moxie, pets, poll, relationship
Comments
Comment from Mary Schmidt
Time May 8, 2009 at 8:44 pm
I’m reasonably certain my dog doesn’t love Eric Zorn.
Patricia McConnell, animal behaviorist and columnist in BARK magazine has written about the emotional lives of dogs. She makes the excellent point that dogs have brain structures similar to those of humans–limbic system and all. From a biological point of view, there’s evidence that dogs do share human emotions, presumably love as well.
I suppose a definition for love might be useful before stating that dogs love. Love makes us do things we don’t always want to do, just because we care about another being. (See Corinthians for more elegant phrasing.) My dog Amie demonstrated this behavior when my father was in a nursing home after surgery. Amie doesn’t like groups of strangers, overheated places, linoleum floors, or being touched by people she doesn’t know. In her first visit to see my father, she encountered all of these things in a skilled nursing care unit. The next time we came back to visit, Amie PULLED on the leash to get to the door of the facility so she could see my dad. I don’t know what else to call Amie’s behavior except a manifestation of love. Dog treat bribery would not be enough to make Amie return to a place that made her uncomfortable. Something more powerful had to have been going on.
Comment from Anne-n-Spencer
Time May 8, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Well, I suspect my credentials as a dog-lover are as good as anybody’s. But I began to be a lot happier with my dogs when I quit trying to humanize them so much.
More so than with love, I see this in end of life or injury situations with dogs. We see humans who are ill or in pain or dying, and we laud them for their courage. We say they’re fighters–admirable for overcoming their adversity. When we see dogs in the same situation, we praise their courage, too. But is it courage or merely endurance of suffering because there is no choice? I’ve see the “courage” dodge used too often by humans who self-seekingly want to squeeze out a few more months of life for the animals they love. The worst example was the little dog who goes around on her two back legs. That’s not courage she’s showing–it’s sheer endurance, made all the more pitiable by the fact that it could be corrected by a little wheeled cart. Dog courage is quite different. It’s their response to whatever threatens themselves or whoever (humans or other dogs) is part of their life. It’s not lesser just because it’s not human. (Dogs don’t hate, either.)
Not surprisingly, I’m in the “dogs don’t love” camp. I think that what we have is a deep bond based on our proximity, our affection and affinity for each other, and our hopefully mutual loyalty. It really surpasses love in some respects. We call it “love” because that’s the closest human approximation we can come up with for it.
Anne