This kind of behavior is fairly common—and there’s a thriving market aimed at it, as detailed in the Annals of Obsession video above. Tinkerbelle, a papillon-Maltese mix whose Wikipedia page describes her as a “canine model and internet celebrity,” has appeared in ads for Ralph Lauren, Febreze, Swiffer, and Target. “I just treat her as a person more than an animal,” her owner, Sam Carrell, says. “And I think that’s why she’s so successful, too, is because she’s not treated as an animal.” If you have the means, you can treat your dog not just like a human but like a rich and fancy one: Kerry Brown, the co-owner of the New York City location of D Pet Hotels, a “five star” chain of boutique dog accommodations, runs an establishment with a full slate of amenities, including night-and-day room service prepared by a private chef; a gym called Pant, where dogs can run on treadmills; and a selection of grooming options, including the Rich Bitch and the Suri Cruz. “Does a dog need a forty-two-inch flat-screen TV?” Brown asks. “No. They do not. But a parent knows that, by having that TV running, it will keep the dog company and help the dog feel more at home.”
A couple of years ago, I put on my shoes, grabbed my purse, and asked my dog, Luna, if she needed anything from the bodega. It was then that I realized just how deep into the madness of pet anthropomorphism I had sunk. My excuse, of course, is the same as every other nut job’s. I swear that Luna, a fluffy, mischievous, ninety-pound Border collie–Great Pyrenees mix, is basically a human. She’s as big as one, anyway, and as expressive. Friends come over for parties, gaze into her skeptical hazel eyes, and inform me that Luna resembles a person wearing a dog suit. Because I work from home, I’ve spent much more time with her than I have with my actual human partner, and every day I observe her mood shifting like the light in our apartment: she’s sleepy; she’s hyper; she’s on edge; she’s happy; she wants to be left alone. Like most dog-owners, I have developed an embarrassing voice that I use to ventriloquize her thoughts and feelings (as I imagine them, anyway), and, if Luna were docile enough to dress up in anything more complicated than a bandanna, I would probably style a full outfit for her every day.
Charismatic animals tend to receive an illogical amount of human care and attention. The sadness prompted by s of a polar bear whose habitat is shrinking often outstrips the sympathy generated by a climate refugee in the same situation. I can’t remember the last time I went to the doctor for a routine checkup, but I take Luna twice a year. It’s “problematic,” the dog trainer Annie Grossman says, “to treat them like we would want to treat a person.” Dogs are meant to be dogs; they evolved to hunt, to work, and to live in packs. “We give them everything they need. Is that really giving the dog the best possible life?” Carrell has a counterpoint, though: “If you have something, and you care for it, why wouldn’t you spend the money?” I looked at Tinkerbelle, in her pink jacket, and considered the fact that I cut my boyfriend’s hair in the kitchen, but Luna goes to a Brooklyn groomer where a wash and trim costs over a hundred dollars, with tip.
A preference for kindchenschema occurs early in human development. In a study by Borgi et al. (2014), researchers used eye tracking to determine that both children and adults looked longer at pictures rated high in infantile characteristics than at those rated low. This held true for pictures of humans, cats and dogs. And as research by Dekay and McClelland has shown, humans like animals who appear more humanlike; our concern for the well-being of a species correlates strongly with the speciesâ similarity to ourselves.
This type of research has direct application to the dog adoption process. As mentioned, cuteness induces protective behavior, which often leads to positive human-dog interactions. It follows that these feelings may result in a decision to adopt the dog who elicits them and to overlook those who donât.
Because the well-being of dogs is heavily dependent on their relationships with humans, itâs important to understand that these often-unconscious biases affect our choices. Thereâs nothing wrong with loving a cute dogâas I do Millieâbut dogs of all sorts need love, and their value should not be determined by how cute we think they are.
Like many infant animals, babies and puppies have several things in common: large heads, round faces, big eyes. These appealing traits have a name: Kindchenschema (baby schema). A concept introduced by Konrad Lorenz in 1942, baby schema is defined as âa set of infantile physical characteristics … [that] motivates caretaking behavior in other individuals, with the evolutionary function of enhancing offspring survival.â
Research by Kringelbach and others suggests that this baby schema may extend beyond physical characteristics to include âpositive infant sounds and smells.â Itâs not hard to imagine that these findings could also be applicable to puppy whimpering and barking, and that unmistakable puppy odor.Related article
Why is it bad to treat my dog like a human?
To put it simply, dogs and humans are very different. This might seem like an obvious answer but the reality is that we often speak to our dogs like they are fellow humans. Dogs have a whole different system of communication. Treating your dog like a human can lead to:
How prehistoric humans created the dog, and why we revere them | David Ian Howe (Presentation)
My dog Millie, a five-pound Yorkshire Terrier, and I do almost everything together. We hike, camp, watch sporting events, grocery shop, spend all day at the bookstore and visit research labs. Everywhere we go, people are attracted to her; they want to hold her, pet her or just say hi. Why do so many people think she is so cute? Is she perceived as cute because of her looks or her behavior? As it turns out, cuteness is influenced by both physical attributes and behavior, factors that affect the perception of cuteness in a variety of animal species.
Like many infant animals, babies and puppies have several things in common: large heads, round faces, big eyes. These appealing traits have a name: Kindchenschema (baby schema). A concept introduced by Konrad Lorenz in 1942, baby schema is defined as âa set of infantile physical characteristics … [that] motivates caretaking behavior in other individuals, with the evolutionary function of enhancing offspring survival.â
Research by Kringelbach and others suggests that this baby schema may extend beyond physical characteristics to include âpositive infant sounds and smells.â Itâs not hard to imagine that these findings could also be applicable to puppy whimpering and barking, and that unmistakable puppy odor.Related article
Research shows a whimpering dog sounds as sad as a crying baby to pet parents. Heres why.
A preference for kindchenschema occurs early in human development. In a study by Borgi et al. (2014), researchers used eye tracking to determine that both children and adults looked longer at pictures rated high in infantile characteristics than at those rated low. This held true for pictures of humans, cats and dogs. And as research by Dekay and McClelland has shown, humans like animals who appear more humanlike; our concern for the well-being of a species correlates strongly with the speciesâ similarity to ourselves.
This partially explains why pet parents have a tendency to anthropomorphize their companion animals. I often talk to Millie as though she can understand every word, and I put her in her bed and arrange everything for her comfort, much as I did for my son when he was small. Some persist in treating their dogs like children even when it clearly aggravates the dog. Although it might not bother all dogs, most dogs you see wearing cute clothing and bows in their hair would probably prefer no clothing or no bows. (When groomers put a bow on Millie, she has a fit and usually manages to remove it on the car ride home.)
Behaviors such as handshaking, rolling over, speaking on command or engaging in unusual tricks also influence our perception of a dogâs cuteness. Conversely, specific behaviors can also detract from a dogâs cuteness quota. Excessive barking, aggression or chewing everything in sight tends to diminish our perception of exactly how cute a dog is.
This biological hardwiring has an evolutionary advantage. The human response to cuteness includes protective behavior, a willingness to care for the animal and increased attention, all things that can be good for the dog. Initially, I became interested in cuteness and its influence on humans after talking with a researcher at Eastern Kentucky University who studies perception. His work focuses on the affect of canine head tilt on a dogâs âcutenessâ rating. One of the things heâs found is that the same dog can receive different ratings depending on the degree of tilt.
This type of research has direct application to the dog adoption process. As mentioned, cuteness induces protective behavior, which often leads to positive human-dog interactions. It follows that these feelings may result in a decision to adopt the dog who elicits them and to overlook those who donât.
Because the well-being of dogs is heavily dependent on their relationships with humans, itâs important to understand that these often-unconscious biases affect our choices. Thereâs nothing wrong with loving a cute dogâas I do Millieâbut dogs of all sorts need love, and their value should not be determined by how cute we think they are.
Jamie Hale, MS, is a researcher, college instructor and science writer associated with Eastern Kentucky Universityâs Perception and Cognition Lab and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab.