Bond (dog)

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Is this dog showing his bond?

In cynology, attachment denotes a special social relationship between dog and human. On the one hand it is the result of socialization with people, on the other hand it is genetically determined and is interpreted as a possible evolutionary adaptation to life in groups of people . The dog's bond with people is particularly noticeable when the animal gets into stressful situations. Given a choice, dogs prefer to join humans. They do not develop bond relationships with other dogs.

Concept of attachment

According to Erik Zimen, attachment refers to the phenomenon that an animal (here: dog) enters into a particularly close social relationship with another individual. In 1989, Heinz Weidt transferred the attachment theory , which explains human attachment behavior, to the human-dog relationship. Heinz Weidt and Dina Berlowitz formulated in 1997 that “that invisible individual bond can form between the unequal partners, which we will call bond in the following.” They relate bond to a dog's “emotional state characterized by security and security” and understand bond “in Senses and in the function of a vital system ”.

Basics of Bonding

The dog's willingness to bond arises from the separation from the mother and the natural need for protection. In order for a bond to come about with humans at all, the puppy needs to socialize with humans in the sensitive phase of its development. In this phase of maximum learning ability from around the 3rd to 13th week of life, it is decided who will be the closest social partner and whether the dog will be able to develop social relationships. Four-month-old puppies develop a bonding relationship with their main caregiver , but dogs are also able to form new bonds quickly later, i.e. within a few days, which has been observed in animal shelter dogs in particular. However, if dogs have no experience with people up to 14 weeks of age, they generally show strong avoidance behavior towards them.

Dogs' attachment to people isn't just about social environment. Comparisons of wolf pups that were intensively socialized with humans with dog pups under the same rearing conditions at the age of four months showed that the dogs showed attachment behavior, whereas the wolves did not. While dogs do bond with humans, they don't with other dogs. Rather, there are parallels in the bonding pattern between dogs and children. As with children, attachment disorders lead to typical behavioral disorders in dogs. It is the human task to meet the dog's need to bond. He has to find a way between overprotecting the dog and neglecting its need for protection; his actions determine the quality of the bond. He has to recognize the dog's needs, react accordingly and be a reliable partner for the dog.

Attachment behavior

The dog's behavior after a separation situation allows conclusions to be drawn about the bond.

The dog's attachment behavior is characterized by internal and external factors; they determine to what extent he seeks and maintains closeness to his caregiver and whether and to what extent he shows exploratory behavior for which the caregiver acts as a secure basis.

A relationship can be described as a bond, if (in the case of dog - human) the dog can recognize the human being (individual distinction), he regards him as a secure base when exploring and in danger ( secure base effect ) and when meeting after a stressful separation Greets people and shows more relaxed behavior.

Importance of Bond

Bonding is a vital system. In the case of the dog, depending on its breed-specific and individually changed degree of dependency, it must remain more or less lifelong. Without the security of attachment to humans, this dependent dog has a constant tendency to flee and gets into a cycle of fear and aggression. Only a secure bond enables the dog to deal positively with its environment.

A secure bond is the basis for living together and working with the dog.

There are working dogs (like the classic farm dogs or herd guard dogs ) that have to act comparatively independently and are not kept in close social relation to humans. Living with them can lead to dangerous situations if there is a lack of specialist knowledge. Especially with breeds that follow this tradition, building a secure bond is of particular importance when kept as a companion dog (see).

Bonding tests

Zimen performed attachment tests on both dogs and wolves. Above all, he used the spatial distance to one another to infer the strength of the bond. One of the tests for the dog consisted of a separation attempt: a dog was given the choice of following one of two separating people in the field.

Heinz Weidt and Dina Berlowitz developed an attachment test in 1997 based on John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth . Over a period of 12 minutes, the dog and its main caregiver are confronted and observed with various situations and tasks for around 3 minutes in a closed room with play equipment (video). The following four episodes are distinguished:

  • mutual exploration (dog and caregiver enter the unfamiliar room),
  • Play / occupy (together),
  • Separation / being alone (reference person leaves the room),
  • Reunion / playing (caregiver comes back).

The behavior in the respective situations allows conclusions to be drawn about the quality of the bond.

In 1998, the group led by the Hungarian behavioral biologist Ádám Miklósi at the Eötvös-Loránd University in Budapest published a new application of Mary Ainsworth's Strange Situation Test to examine the attachment behavior of dogs. The test consists of seven episodes of 2 minutes each and a 30-second introductory episode:

Introductory episode: The observer leads the dog and its caregiver into an experimental room that is unknown to the dog and leaves it.
  1. Caregiver and dog: First the dog explores the room for 1.5 minutes while the caregiver is inactive, then the latter stimulates a game.
  2. Stranger, caregiver and dog: a stranger comes in and sits down. After 30 seconds she starts a conversation with the dog's caregiver. At minute 2, the stranger goes to the dog and tries to encourage play. At the end of this episode, the dog's caregiver leaves the room inconspicuously, the dog leash remains on the chair.
  3. Stranger and dog (first separation episode): The behavior of the stranger is based on that of the dog. During the first minute she tries to keep the dog busy and thus keep it away from the door. If the dog does not want to play, the stranger tries to keep it occupied by petting it. At minute 2 the stranger stops playing. If the dog comes to be petted, that is allowed.
  4. Caregiver and dog (first reunion episode): The dog's caregiver goes to the closed door and calls the dog, then opens the door and waits a moment and lets the dog react. The caregiver welcomes and comforts the dog. Meanwhile, the stranger leaves the room. After 2 minutes, the caregiver also leaves and tells the dog to stay. The leash stays on the chair.
  5. Dog alone (second separation episode)
  6. Stranger and dog (continuation of the second separation episode): The stranger enters and adjusts their behavior to that of the dog. During the first minute the stranger tries to keep the dog occupied by playing and to keep it away from the door. If the dog does not want to play, the stranger tries to keep the dog occupied by petting it. At minute 2 the stranger stops playing. Stroking is allowed if it comes from the dog.
  7. Caregiver and dog (second reunion episode): The caregiver opens the door and waits a moment before greeting the dog to give him the opportunity to react spontaneously. Then the caregiver greets and comforts the dog while the stranger leaves.

The test is recorded on video and evaluated by trained observers. In 1998 Topál, Miklósi and their team found clear differences in the behavior of dogs towards the caregiver compared to that towards the stranger. From this comparison, they concluded the attachment behavior, which they consider the result of domestication . They found no significant breed-specific differences.

literature

  • Elyssa Payne, Pauleen Bennett, Paul McGreevy: Current perspectives on attachment and bonding in the dog-human dyad. In: Psychology Research and Behavior Management. Volume 8, 2015, pp. 71-79, doi : 10.2147 / PRBM.S74972 .

Web links

  • Dog-human attachment ( memento from October 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) archived page of the Family dog ​​project at the Eötvös-Loránd University Budapest from 2009. The page describes the dog-human bond and research results presented. With a list of publications available online from the research group on the subject of dog-human bonding. Including the description of a bonding test based on the Strange Situation Test (Ainsworth), published in 1998.
A current list of publications and information on current research can be found on the Family dog ​​project's website in the About us section .
  • Heinz Weidt, Dina Berlowitz: Secure attachment - secure being . In: Swiss Dog Magazine 2/2007. (First publication ibid. 9/1997.) Publication on the basics of the human-dog bond and description of a separate bond test based on Bowlby / Ainsworth (part 1, p. 43). On the authors' website: Part 1 (PDF; 2.1 MB), Part 2 (each pdf; 2.1 MB).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ádám Miklósi: Dogs. Evolution, cognition and behavior . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-440-12462-8 , pp. 256 .
  2. ↑ a b Erik Zimen: The dog - descent, behavior, man and dog . Goldmann, 1992, ISBN 3-442-12397-6
  3. ↑ Heinz Weidt: The dog we live with: behavior and essence . Paul Parey Verlag, 1989, ISBN 3-490-21912-0
  4. ^ A b Heinz Weidt, Dina Berlowitz: Secure bond - secure being . In: Swiss Dog Magazine 9/1997. pdf part 1 pdf part 2
  5. ^ Dorit Urd Feddersen-Petersen: Hundepsychologie . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 978-3-440-09780-9 , pp. 388 f .
  6. ↑ Miklósi (2011), p. 332
  7. ↑ Miklósi (2011) p. 261
  8. ↑ Miklósi (2011) p. 327
  9. ↑ Miklósi (2011) p. 261 ff.
  10. ↑ Heinz Weidt, Dina Berlowitz: The essence of the dog . Naturbuch Verlag Augsburg, 1998, ISBN 3-89440-294-6
  11. ↑ Miklósi (2011) p. 332
  12. ↑ Dorit Urd Feddersen-Petersen: Expert opinion on keeping guard dogs , Kiel, 2000.
  13. ↑ József Topál, Ádám Miklósi, Vilmos Csányi, Antal Dóka: Attachment Behavior in Dogs (Canis familiaris): A New Application of Ainsworth's (1969) Strange Situation Test . In: Journal of Comparative Psychology . tape 112 , no. 3 , 1998, p. 219-229 .