Hearts that Beat In Sync: The Powerful Bond Between Owners and their Dogs
Our dogs are always right with us, they’re our gaurdians, and they help us to go through illnesses. They listen, they comfort, and even can become a child’s best teacher and friend.
These are all examples of the strong bond between us and them. But although it may seem to be, this link isn’t just an emotional one; there’s also a real, measurable effect that comes from it, which has been proven by various studies.
According to a number of experts, the bond between dogs and their owners shares similiarities with the bond between a mother and her child. This is explained by the levels of oxitocina (what’s often reffered to as the ¨love hormone¨) that vary while we’re with our pets.
Recently, an experiment conducted by Monash University in Australia and Pedigree (the pet food brand) has gone a step further, proving that the hearts of a dog and his owner can even beat in perfect synchronization.
This conclusion came from a study involving 3 pairs of dogs and their owners. In each of the three cases, the relationship was particularly strong between dog and owner since the dogs had become a strong source of emotional support for the owners, who’d had to cope with difficult situations like a serious illness.
By using a heart monitor, they were able to confirm a change in the rhythm of the heartbeats from the beginning of the experiment, while the owners were isolated, to the subsequent stage when the owners were reunited with their pets. This was more or less expected, since it’s already known that dogs can help us go through stressful situations.
What was unexpected, though, is that there was a noticeable synchronization between the heart rate of the dogs and their owners. The heart monitors showed that, little by little, their hearts began to beat in unison.
When the owners heard of the findings, they were moved, but not surprised: apparently, this gave an explanation for the connection they had always felt with their dog but were unable to describe.
With studies like these, science moves us closer to understanding dogs and reminds us how amazing it is to have them by our side. They’re incredible companions, don’t you think?
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