The Human–Dog Bond

Oxytocin is a neuropeptide involved in social bonding across mammals. In humans, oxytocin elevations are associated with mother-infant bonding, romantic-partner bonding, and other social-attachment contexts. Nagasawa, Kikusui and colleagues' 2015 paper in Science established that mutual gaze between dogs and their owners produces oxytocin elevations in both species — a positive-feedback loop that parallels the human mother-infant bonding mechanism. The finding is striking because it demonstrates a cross-species bonding mechanism that may have evolved during dog domestication. The article walks through the empirical findings, the methodology, what the evidence supports and does not, and the practical implications for owner-dog relationships.