Honors College Art & Science of Emotions Fall 2017 (1:20 p.m.) Love Journal | Page 35

Stages of Love
According to scientific studies, love can be broken down into three categories; lust, attraction, and attachment. These steps are
important when considering how you know someone is “in love” and knowing the different chemicals/hormones our bodies produce in each category.
The categories that best fit the love for an animal is the attraction and attachment stages. The attraction stage of love is driven
by dopamine, norepinephrine, noradrenalin, and a reduction in serotonin. Even though there are few studies based on how a dog may release these
hormones, dogs are attracted to humans and thus is important when discussing how dogs love. One study mentions that dogs are attracted to
humans because we displace the most “emotional mass.” “Emotional mass” is also described as resistance to being moved by a feeling. This human-
dog connection relies on emotional capacity of the species and the emotional mass obtained through experience. The more emotional experiences
dogs and humans live through, the stronger the attraction for high emotional capacity(Behan, 2009). This study proves that dogs are attract-
ed to us in some way, and allows us to evaluate how it makes us as humans love them back.
The attachment category of love is probably the most accurate stage when discussing the ability of a dog to love. Attachment is
driven by oxytocin and vasopressin. Oxytocin, the “cuddle hormone,” is a precursor to bonding and is a hormone that is released during a feeling
of love. Additionally, oxytocin is found in large quantities during sex, breastfeeding, and childbirth. So, how does this relate to dogs? Well, in
several studies, dogs were found to release high levels of oxytocin when they gazed into their owners eyes (Hare, 2015). In another experi-
ment, dog noses were sprayed with a saline or oxytocin and then placed in a room with their owner. This experiment showed that females
sprayed with the solution gazed into their owners eyes for a longer period of time and in this time, the owner’s themselves had a boost in oxyto-
cin levels. This made scientists conclude that dogs have acquired the ability to love during the domestication/evolutionary process.
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