This is not only to strengthen your mutual love and affection. But also in order to become … a little happier.
When a person and a dog look into each other’s eyes, their connection is strengthened, Japanese scientists have found. It’s all about oxytocin, a hormone that helps form attachment (for example, in a mother to a newborn). Its level rises sharply when the dog and owner are in close visual contact.
Several experiments were carried out to prove this. In one of them, dogs and owners were deliberately left alone in a room for 30 minutes. Later, in those people and animals that looked into each other’s eyes for more time, an increased concentration of oxytocin was found in the urine. It was also noted that during the experiment, these owners touched and talked to their pets more. And what could be more beautiful – for both dogs and people?
The same experiment was repeated with wolves raised by humans and very attached to their owners. But oxytocin stayed the same. The explanation followed: most likely, wolves, even domesticated ones, perceive eye contact primarily as a threat and often simply avoid looking people in the eye.
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In addition, during the experiments, a “biological positive feedback” was found between dogs and their owners – an increase in the level of oxytocin in one causes an increase in the hormone in the other. “Looking into the eyes has become an important means of communication between humans over the course of human evolution,” explains co-author of the study, veterinarian Takefumi Kikusui of Azabu University Kanagawa in Japan. He suggests that in the process of domestication of dogs, eye-to-eye contact became a means of communication between the owner and his pet, which helped them to become attached to each other.
According to Kikusui, a similar effect can be found in cats. However, this assumption requires verification. It is known that in communication people look more at the right side of the face of the interlocutor, whose facial expressions are more expressive. Dogs are the only kind of pets that do the same.
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What is the benefit of oxytocin? It is produced in the hypothalamus and plays an important role in regulating various reactions and behaviors. Helps to form affection, recognize faces, regulates maternal instincts. It is known that dogs are often used for the rehabilitation of patients (including in psychotherapy): they help reduce anxiety and emotional stress. Treatment with the help of dogs is called canistherapy. Its effectiveness, many scientists explain the production of the hormone oxytocin.
Подробнее см. M. Nagasawa et al. «Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds», Science, 2015.