Dog Psychiatry 101 – Why do they love us?

Do you call yourself a pet parent? Do you love your fur baby like a child? Good news, your feelings are validated – scientifically.

15 November, 2024 – BREWSTER, MA – Edie, Nugget and Ellen were among ten rescue pups evacuated from Florida one day before hurricane Milton hit, beginning of October. The Animal Rescue League of Boston placed them at their Brewster shelter were they are connected with their forever Cape Cod homes. Mike Defina, Media Relations Manager, says when fur babies and pet parents find each other, magic is created. “A lot of people say we don’t choose them, they choose us, and I think that happens quite a lot with an animal,” says Defina. “They’ll just kind of look you in the eye and you instantly fall in love.”

How Do I Know What Dog Is Right For Me?

Love is a given, but adopting a dog from an animal shelter often means limited knowledge in terms breed, but science is not sure if breed is necessarily connected to behavior. There are other things to consider when choosing the right dog for you. Dr. Taylor Kirby-Madden, dog psychiatrist or veterinary behaviorist at Animal Hospital of Orleans, gives advice. First of all, make sure your personalities match, if the dog gets up at five o'clock in the morning you will have to become an early bird. Also, look at your family dynamic. "If you're looking at a shelter dog and you have kids or you have elderly parents, or you have a household where you have a lot of people coming in and out, you wanna be looking for a dog who is not fearful," says Dr. Kirby-Madden. "Who is bold enough to be wiggling and waggling and walking up to unfamiliar people." Are you a first time dog owner? Puppies can surprise you with a change of behavior when they hit adolescence. Dr. Kirby-Madden recommends considering an older dog. "They're wise, they're calm, they're bonded," she says.

Is The Alpha Theory Debunked?

Forget about the tough love. If you want your dog to be well behaved positive reinforcement is key. Studies show dogs in the wild do not form social hierarchy, dogs do not try to become alpha and assert dominance among themselves or over us. "Alpha Theory dominance theory has largely been debunked as the social organization of dogs," says Dr. Kirby-Madden. "Dogs are scavengers. So they have these loosey goosey social affiliations where they get along with anyone. And sure, as long as there's enough food to go around, they're kind of fine with that.
They don't spend time jostling for position."

What Is A Dog Psychiatrist?

Dr. Kirby-Madden is one of three veterinary behaviorists in Massachusetts and the only one on Cape Cod. Her clinic Animal Hospital of Orleans is the first and only Fear Free certified animal hospital on Cape Cod and the second in Massachusetts. "The science of behavior tells us that the safest way to change behavior in a person or an animal or even a plant, is through positive reinforcement," she says. Punishment based training with fear as a tool is not only outdated and harmful, but could lead to dangerous situations. "There are outcomes from fear-based training or fear-based parenting that are increased anxiety and increased aggression," says Dr. Kirby-Madden.

Debunking the alpha theory also means debunking the belief that an anxious owner automatically creates an anxious dog having to step up as the alpha to do the job the owner is not. Dr. Kirby-Madden says there is no evidence suggesting that nervousness can transmit down the leash. "I see clients come in all the time saying things like that and they carry a tremendous amount of guilt and shame about it," she says. An as it turns out, that doesn't benefit them or their pet."

What Can We Replace The Alpha Theory With?

The lack of the need to assert dominance and the skills in forming social bonds are what makes us love dogs so much. The bond you feel with your dog is scientifically proven. "Dogs and puppies, or humans and puppies, when they gaze in each other's eyes, they will actually have mutual oxytocin release just like between parents and babies. That's wild. That's wild;" says Dr. Kirby-Madden. "We love each other the way we love dogs because they're kind of like children to us, and dogs love us because we're kind of like parents to them. So it's a real family relationship.

So, if you love your dog like your child, know that you are backed up by neuroscience. "Dogs really appear to view us as big, weird parents And I think, because they're so scent driven
and we are so not, I think that they think we're kind of dumb a little bit about that stuff, but they love us anyway" says Dr. Kirby-Madden. She there may be some shaming from dog training communities regarding labeling your dogs as fur babies, but the terminology stems from our feelings. "It's fitting into the brain sort of framework for which we've been designed to have social relationships," she says.  "So it's okay you can call yourself your pet parent. It's totally fine."