Dog Attachment Tied to Perceived Behavior, Not Reality

Do we love our dogs more when they behave the way we want them to? A 2022 study used the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS) in its German version to explore how owner-dog attachment scores relate to actual walking behaviour and obedience.

Researchers assessed owner perceptions of their dogs’ conduct—like disobedience or hunting drive—and compared these against objective movement data from walking routines. They found that owners felt less attached to dogs they perceived as problematic, and more attached to those viewed as obedient. However, these views often did not match the dogs’ actual behaviour as recorded through movement tracking.

This mismatch highlights that attachment is influenced more by perceived behaviour than factual data. Owners’ subjective interpretations, driven by emotional and neuroendocrinological mechanisms such as oxytocin release, shape the human-animal bond more than the dog’s real actions.

The findings suggest that owner self-reports alone may be insufficient to assess the quality of dog-human relationships. This has implications for behaviour research and the design of training or bonding interventions, pointing toward the need for more objective behavioural measures.