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Are pet dogs just suffering from Stockholm syndrome, or do they genuinely enjoy our company?

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Clive Wynne Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, US Author of Dog is Love

It’s true, our dogs are trapped with us, not allowed to leave the house unless tethered to a human on a leash and, yes, fully dependent on us for everything they need in life – and yet their love for us transcends anything like Stockholm syndrome.

I see this most obviously when I return home from a walk with my dog, Xephos. Her joy at seeing my wife and son transcends how a kidnapped person would respond to being returned to their jailers.

This is also clear when we consider that the majority of the world’s 800 million dogs don’t live as pets, captive inside a house. Most roam the streets of poorer countries. These aren’t anyone’s captives and yet they still form emotional bonds with individual people. Studies by Anindita Bhadra at the Indian Institute of Science and Education in Kolkata, India, and her colleagues show that street dogs rapidly form affectionate ties with people who treat them gently. Light petting builds a bond of trust faster even than offering pieces of chicken.

There is considerable value in being clear-eyed about the way we constrain our dogs’ lives, but that doesn’t mean that their love for us amounts to Stockholm syndrome.

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Joe Sweeney via Twitter

Not sure about dogs, but with cats, it’s the other way around.

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