Pets and Their Humans
Domesticated animals have evolved to make their desires known
A kind of intimacy. Even an outside observer can see that the emotional bond between a pet and its owner is often very strong. Animals and humans who live together gaze into each other's eyes, cuddle on the sofa, and sleep together. Annie Frelich, a 37-year-old children's entertainer, lives with her partner, Stephen Whitman, their son, Jack, and four dogs in Putney, Vt. "Sometimes I prefer to be with the dogs," she says. "It's simply about touching and looking at each other. It's intimate really." On the flip side, when a pet dies the grief owners feel at the loss of their furry companion can be truly painful. Dave Janiga, who lives in Sterling, Va., says he cried every day for four months after the death of Goliath, his cat of 151/2 years. "It was probably the closest relationship I have ever had," he says. "I loved him, and I think he liked me a lot."
Since we can't actually ask our pets how they are feeling, we rely on their behavior and body language for clues. Janiga believes his cat liked him because the animal "followed me around and wanted to play with his toys with me." Dogs are considered to be more expressive than cats, though not necessarily more emotional. Wolves live in packs and have an elaborate system for social communication. Dogs have inherited this language and the ability to know their social standing, as wolves naturally rank themselves from the most dominant to the most subordinate in the group. Frelich's four dogs have established their own social order. Lubba, the large female husky/shepherd mix, is "the matriarch," she says, with the others falling in line down to Chico, a chihuahua, who plays the role of "little brother." "It is an amazing system to watch," Frelich says. "They really have a social life."
Dogs translate this social understanding to the human household and communicate with owners as they would other dogs. Often owners understand their dog's behavior correctly. A broadly wagging tail is in fact a flag of friendship, says Coren, and a toothy grin with the tongue hanging loosely from the front is indeed a smile. But what about licking, which most people assume is the equivalent of doggie kisses? Coren says that dogs use licking to communicate not only affection but also submission to an owner or a more dominant dog. "It says, `I'm a puppy, and you're not going to hurt me,' " Coren says. But, he adds, there is another, less charming explanation. Wolf puppies will often greet their mother who has returned from a hunt with exuberant face licking. Sure, they're glad to see her, but the real reason for this behavior is that it induces the mother to regurgitate the kill so the puppies can eat as well. "Very often when a dog is licking your face," Coren says, "what it is really saying is that it wants a snack."
Food ranks a close second to owner affection in the eyes of many a dog, and it is sometimes with the eyes that a pooch will try to score a bite to eat. Direct eye contact is a way dogs dominate each other, and they often use the same tactic to get an owner (or houseguest) to drop a morsel off the table. "We think the dog is feeling soulful or mournful" and we empathize, he says. "But really, it is thinking about being dominant."
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