People love animals and share a special bond with their pets. Animals (cats and dogs in particular) have become so much part of your family that you deliver funeral services upon their passing, and maybe even cremate them. Animals that aren’t pets also receive attention from the general public, especially when they are harmed or killed.
There is no doubt that people and animals share a special connection, but do you love animals as much as you think? How do you become attached to them?
Why We’ve Become Attached
According to Hal Herzog, a psychology professor at the Western Carolina university, people become attached because of affection and biology. Biologically speaking, you feel good when you look or touch your pets. Most pets also provide unconditional love, which satisfy a human need for affection. It’s this reason that people care for animals as much as people, sometimes even more.
How people care for animals can be seen in how they treat their pets. Dogs, for example, grow up with their owners and can be trained to improve their behavior. You may even send your beloveddogs to board and training servicesin your city. Other owners choose to train their dogs themselves, strengthening the bond.
If not trained properly, some dogs may exhibit aggressive and unwanted behaviors. This is why training them at an early age makes more sense and makes them more obedient to their owners. As early as five weeks old, dogs can be reinforced to avoid certain behaviors and be encouraged to continue doing good.
Like human babies, dogs learn to socialize with other dogs and humans to learn the necessary skills needed growing up. These skills include behaving properly or assisting those in need. When a young dog is trained properly, it becomes accustomed to its environment and shows less aggressive behavior.
If you’re an owner of a well-trained and obedient dog, you’ll see the results of training come to life. The time and affection spent with your pet has increased and made you more attached to them.
Do People Love Animals More Than Humans?
The answer is no. Most people care about their pets and the adorable zoo animals they learn to protect. Animals beyond these categories are those people don’t care much about. People will still react strongly to a dog being maltreated over the thousands of animals that die each day for human consumption.
People may not care for all the animals in the world, but there’s one reason why they’re loved. It’s because animals are innocent and act on instincts. When you put a human crime victim and an abused dog side by side, people will show lesser empathy toward the human. Another reason people care for animals deeply is because they’re more helpless than us. People can vocalize opinions and communicate. Cats and dogs can only do so much to voice out how they feel.
You can train our cats and dogs to behave accordingly. People do show love and compassion to animals, even those not part of the family. Probably the best way to explain how people and animals bond together is because we can make their lives better and provide them the care they cannot do themselves.