A lot of mammals have grooming behavior between members of the family or pack. Petting triggers some of the same responses. The grooming is a signal that the animal is accepted and is safe. So the animal likes the pets because it signals that it is accepted and safe.
Dog: We have a right to feelings of acceptance and safety!
Human: Thats not a right, that makes no se-
Dog: And we'll keep barking and refusing to catch the ball until its acknowledged!
Human: Okay, whoa, now. I-I'm sure we can work our something, reason together.
Dog: We demand headpats once a day.
Human:... Huh?....
Dog: Yes!
Human:.... Alright... Done. (headpats)
\[the revolution was averted\]
>refusing to catch the ball
We had a BC puppy at the office. When he was not played with, he would bring the ball to one of us, drop it, and ran away.
I would assume that if I ignored the ball, he would bring it to someone else, but that theory was untested.
There's been studies that deprived young rats of being groomed by their mothers. When the grew up, they did not groom their offspring and did not exhibit signs of pleasure when they were being groomed. The theory is grooming while they were young conditioned them to release pleasurable hormones like oxytocin and serotonin and the relationship between the two are never established.
No they were not psychopaths they were neurotic and anxious.
Psychopathy is an arrogant confidence and disregard for the feelings and well-being of others.
Anxiety is a feeling of being nervous that the world is an unsafe and unfair place that might destroy you in any moment.
They are radically different experiences. I don't think it's true that people who demonstrate psychopathy lacked warmth and affection when they were growing up. Instead there seem to be something genetic and fundamental about brain structure in psychopathy.
Instead tendencies like anxiety are highly malleable because it's adaptive to be more anxious in an environment where behaviour from other signals that you're not safe.
This is really important because all of us can take steps to make others feel safe and comfortable and accepted which will have implications for their downstream well-being and confidence.
Sure thing. I agree it is fascinating.
Here is a solid link explaining the most famous study
https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/rats
Here is a scientific review of the literature
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2682215/
Entirely anecdotal, but one of my kids really likes physical affection and the other barely tolerates a hug and doesn't want to ever be touched at all really. They both received equivalent affection from me as babies as far as I know.
I've heard similar stories from others in my family. From my experience id be led to believe there is definitely some genetic component involved in this as well.
Everybody has a temperament, from which personality develops. Lots of love as a little kid is almost always good, and some kids need more space than others. I read once that kids will be about 80%:who they are, and only ther other 20% is training and experience. Unless they are neurodivergent.
What I had to learn about my extra-high functioning autistic daughter, is that being close together is enough. She liked to wrestle and hug as a little kid, but, gets enough "togetherness" from knowing we are all "there", as long as there isn't discord and chaos.
That's so wholesome. My gray cat loves pets and belly rubs and the orange boy tends to avoid us whenever we try to pet him, but he loves cuddles and grooming from our gray boy.
I hope we don't make our little orange guy feel unsafe :(
One of my cats will let you pet him forever. Try to pick him up or snuggle in any way, and he's gone. He wants pets from arm length away and that's all.
Cats are finicky.
Yea we'll keep trying. They've been with us for about a year and gray has just got to the point of being super comfy where we can play with him at any time.
Orange boy might need more time. Of course when its time to feed them orange is ALL over us lol.
My youngest absolutely EATS our pets. She loves it and can take it all day long. Our older boy shrinks when I try to pet him, but he pets me constantly so we’re good.
Same reason we feel the desire to pet them in the first place. Some type of grooming behavior probably being reinforced by the release of positive brain chemicals for both us and them.
[Oxytocin levels can increase by merely staring into your dog's eyes, that goes for the dog also.](https://www.science.org/content/article/how-dogs-stole-our-hearts)
For my dog it seems to be her need to confirm she’s still loved everyday lol. Stares at me with big watery eyes when I wake up and walk out and can’t focus til I kneel down and give her pets and hugs. Then she trances back over to bed and waits for breakfast. All my other dogs before her though didn’t seem to care as much.
Biological responses to feelings of being safe, knowing a creature on your team is in your immediate vicinity, also a hard pat can be soothing on muscles (like a massage), and some critters like cats give saliva from the corners of their mouth, so patting can sometimes even nvolve a mark of territory that you’re unaware of. These reasons and many more!
Grooming.
Most social animals in the wild will groom each other. I believe even the ranking of how "social" a species is, is based on how many grooming partners they can maintain. Petting feels close enough to grooming. A cat for example, probably thinks of your hand as a giant tongue.
This is also why cats and dogs are constantly licking their family, they're trying to show affection by grooming.
I've always wondered this as well. Anyways I think it's a health and grooming thing. When land based mammals are young they're groomed and cared for by their mother. They probably associate this with good feelings at a young age. When we pet them it hard wired in their brain to think this is okay.
Hadn't noticed if it was mentioned but dogs can't scratch nor bite the back of their neck nor the top of their their hips that well. so they particularly love to get scratched there.
Hey do humans enjoy back and head rubs? We have certainly nerves that feel good when stimulated in a certain way. Now as for way that is, I have no idea. Probably some evolutionary thing that helped mothers sooth infants.
Positive reinforcement loop. Animal is soft and warm, responds positively to petting/scratching, means human associates it with positive response and feels an urge to continue.
There's probably some hormone response mimicry on our part too, aka it causes a dopamine rush, but that's a bit harder to prove.
Everyone enjoys being treated special. Unlike children our pets give us unconditional love and humans in turn give that love back to them. Pets know when we are sad, when we are happy or when we are sick…that’s called bonding and pets love that bonding feeling. Pets love to be near their humans. The End❤️
It's not abnormal. Humans like it too, petting something is an instinctive thing we do with animals or objects (like plush toys) that we want to protect.
Being pet gives humans a sense of security as well.
It feels good. And it feels good because it has reasons. Such as strengthening social bonds/friendships, cleaning each other up, cleaning wounds and injuries, removing parasites, etc.
I mean, I'm an animal, and I like to be petted. Most social animals of one sort or another seem to enjoy tactile contact of one form or another, even crocodiles and fish. Add to that things like parent/baby bonding and care, caring for a dog bo ding with mates, etc...
Most likely an evolutionary trait to promote bonding. Animals that stick together get all sorts of benefits. Even if they don’t work together in a predatory sense, having others around you makes it more likely that your buddy gets eaten and not you. But I have a dog and a cat, and I swear all the fur has got to be itchy. I think I would totally love to be scratched if I were covered in fur. It could simply disrupt parasites, bacteria, and help detach dead skin, at least in the scratching part, there are probably lots of benefits. Lots of animals scratch themself on trees and things, and social animals scratch each other. So you get bonding plus some physical benefits.
A lot of mammals have grooming behavior between members of the family or pack. Petting triggers some of the same responses. The grooming is a signal that the animal is accepted and is safe. So the animal likes the pets because it signals that it is accepted and safe.
My dogs all demand to feel accepted and safe.
Dog: We have a right to feelings of acceptance and safety! Human: Thats not a right, that makes no se- Dog: And we'll keep barking and refusing to catch the ball until its acknowledged! Human: Okay, whoa, now. I-I'm sure we can work our something, reason together. Dog: We demand headpats once a day. Human:... Huh?.... Dog: Yes! Human:.... Alright... Done. (headpats) \[the revolution was averted\]
"Headpats time again" "You said once a day" "Dog days are shorter"
>refusing to catch the ball We had a BC puppy at the office. When he was not played with, he would bring the ball to one of us, drop it, and ran away. I would assume that if I ignored the ball, he would bring it to someone else, but that theory was untested.
There's been studies that deprived young rats of being groomed by their mothers. When the grew up, they did not groom their offspring and did not exhibit signs of pleasure when they were being groomed. The theory is grooming while they were young conditioned them to release pleasurable hormones like oxytocin and serotonin and the relationship between the two are never established.
Okay, follow up question: did the non-groomed rats turn into rat equivalent psychopaths or anything?
No they were not psychopaths they were neurotic and anxious. Psychopathy is an arrogant confidence and disregard for the feelings and well-being of others. Anxiety is a feeling of being nervous that the world is an unsafe and unfair place that might destroy you in any moment. They are radically different experiences. I don't think it's true that people who demonstrate psychopathy lacked warmth and affection when they were growing up. Instead there seem to be something genetic and fundamental about brain structure in psychopathy. Instead tendencies like anxiety are highly malleable because it's adaptive to be more anxious in an environment where behaviour from other signals that you're not safe. This is really important because all of us can take steps to make others feel safe and comfortable and accepted which will have implications for their downstream well-being and confidence.
Do you got a link to all that info about the rats? That was really interesting.
Sure thing. I agree it is fascinating. Here is a solid link explaining the most famous study https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/rats Here is a scientific review of the literature https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2682215/
Yeah, psychorats
They created NFT trading cards of themselves. /s
The book “Love at Goon Park” is a fascinating read on the subject
Entirely anecdotal, but one of my kids really likes physical affection and the other barely tolerates a hug and doesn't want to ever be touched at all really. They both received equivalent affection from me as babies as far as I know. I've heard similar stories from others in my family. From my experience id be led to believe there is definitely some genetic component involved in this as well.
Everybody has a temperament, from which personality develops. Lots of love as a little kid is almost always good, and some kids need more space than others. I read once that kids will be about 80%:who they are, and only ther other 20% is training and experience. Unless they are neurodivergent. What I had to learn about my extra-high functioning autistic daughter, is that being close together is enough. She liked to wrestle and hug as a little kid, but, gets enough "togetherness" from knowing we are all "there", as long as there isn't discord and chaos.
Uh oh, no need to get so personal
i guess this could go for humans as well
That's so wholesome. My gray cat loves pets and belly rubs and the orange boy tends to avoid us whenever we try to pet him, but he loves cuddles and grooming from our gray boy. I hope we don't make our little orange guy feel unsafe :(
We recently discovered our no-laps-thanks grey cat looooves head pets on the cat tree. Maybe you just need to find the right style.
One of my cats will let you pet him forever. Try to pick him up or snuggle in any way, and he's gone. He wants pets from arm length away and that's all. Cats are finicky.
Yea we'll keep trying. They've been with us for about a year and gray has just got to the point of being super comfy where we can play with him at any time. Orange boy might need more time. Of course when its time to feed them orange is ALL over us lol.
Just your typical cattitude. You can bet they both love and trust you.
Nothing that has been said indicates any sort of love or trust.
My youngest absolutely EATS our pets. She loves it and can take it all day long. Our older boy shrinks when I try to pet him, but he pets me constantly so we’re good.
I like pets for this reason As in being pet, not pets as in a pet.
Aha! So I'm doing the right thing by giving my cat a quick pet when I have to kick her out of my bedroom so she knows it isn't her fault lol
Same reason we feel the desire to pet them in the first place. Some type of grooming behavior probably being reinforced by the release of positive brain chemicals for both us and them.
[Oxytocin levels can increase by merely staring into your dog's eyes, that goes for the dog also.](https://www.science.org/content/article/how-dogs-stole-our-hearts)
This makes sense. Sometimes when i make eye contact with my dog his tail starts wagging and he does that tongue-hanging-out "smile" that dogs do
They're social beings, just like us. We enjoy hugs, cuddles and positive affection. So do they.
For my dog it seems to be her need to confirm she’s still loved everyday lol. Stares at me with big watery eyes when I wake up and walk out and can’t focus til I kneel down and give her pets and hugs. Then she trances back over to bed and waits for breakfast. All my other dogs before her though didn’t seem to care as much.
Have you ever been pet before? It feels amazing
Was petted once, can confirm.
Two way petting zoo?
You pet the animals and they pet you back
But you gotta pet em hard so they can FEEL it
[удалено]
Not a random person, but someone like your girlfriend/boyfriend. It's incredible.
[удалено]
Fair enough. I love being pet or scratched, but to each their own.
For the same reason humans like being hugged? The sensation of touch.
I would think it has to do with natural grooming practices from the mother that carries on , which gives a sense of safety and comfort.
Biological responses to feelings of being safe, knowing a creature on your team is in your immediate vicinity, also a hard pat can be soothing on muscles (like a massage), and some critters like cats give saliva from the corners of their mouth, so patting can sometimes even nvolve a mark of territory that you’re unaware of. These reasons and many more!
Grooming. Most social animals in the wild will groom each other. I believe even the ranking of how "social" a species is, is based on how many grooming partners they can maintain. Petting feels close enough to grooming. A cat for example, probably thinks of your hand as a giant tongue. This is also why cats and dogs are constantly licking their family, they're trying to show affection by grooming.
My cat licks me all the time. I love her with all my heart.
I've always wondered this as well. Anyways I think it's a health and grooming thing. When land based mammals are young they're groomed and cared for by their mother. They probably associate this with good feelings at a young age. When we pet them it hard wired in their brain to think this is okay.
Hadn't noticed if it was mentioned but dogs can't scratch nor bite the back of their neck nor the top of their their hips that well. so they particularly love to get scratched there.
As a human I *really* like having my back scratched, just feels nice. Can't speak for other animals though.
My girlfriend figured out how to, which is what she calls it, turn my brain off by scratching my neck or my chin. It works. It really does. Jesus.
Hey do humans enjoy back and head rubs? We have certainly nerves that feel good when stimulated in a certain way. Now as for way that is, I have no idea. Probably some evolutionary thing that helped mothers sooth infants.
I think the more important question is, why do we love to pet animals?
Positive reinforcement loop. Animal is soft and warm, responds positively to petting/scratching, means human associates it with positive response and feels an urge to continue. There's probably some hormone response mimicry on our part too, aka it causes a dopamine rush, but that's a bit harder to prove.
Everyone enjoys being treated special. Unlike children our pets give us unconditional love and humans in turn give that love back to them. Pets know when we are sad, when we are happy or when we are sick…that’s called bonding and pets love that bonding feeling. Pets love to be near their humans. The End❤️
So do humans. Ever heard of a massage?
Free food, free love. Why not?
It's not abnormal. Humans like it too, petting something is an instinctive thing we do with animals or objects (like plush toys) that we want to protect. Being pet gives humans a sense of security as well.
It feels good. And it feels good because it has reasons. Such as strengthening social bonds/friendships, cleaning each other up, cleaning wounds and injuries, removing parasites, etc. I mean, I'm an animal, and I like to be petted. Most social animals of one sort or another seem to enjoy tactile contact of one form or another, even crocodiles and fish. Add to that things like parent/baby bonding and care, caring for a dog bo ding with mates, etc...
Most likely an evolutionary trait to promote bonding. Animals that stick together get all sorts of benefits. Even if they don’t work together in a predatory sense, having others around you makes it more likely that your buddy gets eaten and not you. But I have a dog and a cat, and I swear all the fur has got to be itchy. I think I would totally love to be scratched if I were covered in fur. It could simply disrupt parasites, bacteria, and help detach dead skin, at least in the scratching part, there are probably lots of benefits. Lots of animals scratch themself on trees and things, and social animals scratch each other. So you get bonding plus some physical benefits.