Dogs love their owners more than themselves: 8 sign that your pet feels the same way about you

Clearly, the most overwhelming state is when we find someone we can love even more than ourselves. As humans, this selfless feeling is rare, but in dogs it can be easier to develop an all-sacrificing love. Research has shown that dogs love us humans more than themselves.

Research has shown that dogs put people before their own well-being. This means, to be precise, that they are higher on the priority list than food or toys. So the owner alone comes before the dog’s natural needs.

First and foremost, they want to please the owner

The perfect example of how much dogs love their owners is that their recognition and praise is one of their strongest and innate desires. This is why they sometimes like to perform in front of their owners, as it is a way of trying to make them happy. In addition, this love is reinforced by the fact that they consider their master to be their main source of security. They now get their food from their human, and are thus also dependent on their owners, which makes them not only friends but also family members.

They are bound for life

What better proof of selfless love than the fact that dogs can bond with their owners for life. Dogs are as attached to their owners as children are. According to psychology, the early attachment that develops in early childhood has a completely different dimension to the mother-child bond that develops later in life. But this initial period is outgrown by the child by the age of 4-5 at the latest, and the child begins to become independent. However, scientists have shown that dogs remain in this deeply bonded and altruistic phase throughout their lives.

The owner is in the first place

Another scientific experiment tested whether, given a choice between a dog’s favourite food and its owner’s, which one would it choose. The research was carried out by Emory University neuroscientist Gregory Berns, who used MRI scans to track what happens when, for example, a dog is praised by its owner or given food. And the results clearly showed that the dog’s reward centre is just as active when it is praised by its owner as when it is given food. Taking this result further, Dr Berns showed that some dogs, given the freedom to choose, prefer their owner over food. In fact, their brains react in a similar way to the human brain when that person meets a very close family member or loved one.

And in research carried out in Budapest, a team of ELTE researchers tested dogs exposed to sound to find out what happens in their brains when their owners talk to them. The results were similar to what you hear when you listen to the voice of a close family member or a lover. With these results, science is proving that quadrupeds do indeed feel love for humans.

Body language is the perfect proof of love

And if all this research doesn’t convince you that your dog simply adores you, check out the list of metacommunication signs below, all of which are signs of the strongest love.

• He loves your smell.
• Greets you at the door.
• She sleeps next to you.
• He brings you gifts.
• He follows you everywhere.
• Makes eye contact with you.
• He’ll be happy to hear your name.
• He’ll try to distract you.

If you are experiencing these signs, you can be sure that your pet really loves you and that you are the most important thing in the world to him.