Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeDogsWhy do our animals look like us?

Why do our animals look like us?

A woman with a long nose and straight hair keeps her Afghan Hound on a leash. A plump little lady waddles behind her bulldog. An aristocrat, sitting on stiletto heels, struts around with his royal poodle… We all have in mind the cult scene with 101 Dalmatians, when Pongo, the canine hero of the film, at his window, watches canine duets parading down the street with their mistress with undeniable mimicry. Gustave Courbet had already depicted this likeness in his Self-Portrait with a Black Dog. Is there any hint of truth in this case? Can we confirm that the masters and their dogs are carbon copies?

like two sisters

“We naturally choose a dog that fits perfectly into the family – a full-fledged member. It is already a way to reduce otherness, therefore to reassure oneself”, confirms Dr. Claude Béata*, veterinarian, specialist in the psychology of dogs and cats. “I’ve always had dogs to accompany my adventurous life,” says Clara, 36, single. “The shepherds meet my criteria perfectly. I love mountain trails, running. When I walk with Yuki, my American shepherd, everyone tells me that we are… like two sisters! We have a little long nose, we are both lively… Also, when I prepare my backpack to go to the mountains, we can’t keep each other in place. She doesn’t have the same demeanor when I pack my suitcase to go to work in the provinces… Neither do I! »A great lover of dogs, the writer Lorraine Fouchet**, who almost always includes her current pooch in her novels, also tells about these amazing physical similarities: «When I walk with My Pote, my little furry westie white, I always get to know we look alike – I have very pale blonde hair and bangs. I have fun with the pictures I post on social networks. But the novelist hasn’t always owned Westies. “I had a basset hound, Columbo’s dog, named after Guinness, very short and round. At that time I was a little bouboule myself. »

Who is holding on to the other?

Dogs have an amazing ability to adapt, especially to their master’s lifestyle. From there to say they end up imitating them… “I’m used to English Setters – I choose them for their extreme friendliness and because as a teenager they were the first dog I had. A priori it is a hunting dog, but since I am not particularly sporty, Elio has become like me, quite calm and indoor dog. In his article “Do owners and their dogs have similar personalities?” ”, Professor Stanley Coren, psychologist, evokes a true Pygmalion effect between masters and their dogs. The puppy will have all the more confidence in him if the master gives him his trust. In competition, it is even more obvious: the dog registers counter-performances if his master is stressed and suspicious… The fact is that the Pygmalion effect can also work in the other direction. The master who wants to please Médor will sometimes profoundly change his lifestyle. When Charlotte adopted her dog Mogwai, a border collie, three years ago, she never imagined that the two would be so close. “One thing is for sure, it wasn’t her who started to look like me… but the other way around. I knew that given her race she would be athletic – and thanks to her I started jogging, long walks. She revealed my sporty side for me.”

Our similarity is behavioral. We are calm and attentive.

Zoe & Mochi (shiba inu)

It’s good for the picture!

If the presidents of the republic adore Labradors, it is no coincidence, according to Brigit Bontour, author of animal taste (Mercury from France). “They choose this dog, which is neither small nor too big, and above all not bad, so they are given the same qualities, she explains: Kindness, security, social intelligence. Even Emmanuel Macron succumbed to the trend, having had a Dogo Argentino – much less consensus.

An emotional contagion

According to Stanley Coren, dogs and owners share major personality traits. Anxious masters want a stressed dog, calm masters a calm doggy… Over time, the master’s personality inevitably rubs off on the dog’s… And this through emotions. Dr. Claude Béata approves: “Between the animals and us there is what is called an emotional contagion”, he suggests. Joy, sorrow, fear are transferred from one to the other as fast as lightning. And sometimes our four-legged friends sense our discomfort before we even have the words to say it. “When my fiancé died in a car accident at the age of 20, my Irish Setter lost all his hair,” recalls Laura. A real emotional mushroom…” “We witness this ’emotional contagion’ during storms and thunderstorms”, continues Dr. Claude Beata. “Master and dog are in a state of hyper-vigilance – we don’t know where the fear comes from, but it can be amplified by going from one to the other. Sometimes both start shaking at the same time. The emotional circle can also be positive. Lorraine is much more relaxed since her little westie came into her life. “Uriel, the previous one, was melancholic and despairing. He was worried when I went out… Suddenly I got worried too when I slammed the door to my house. My guy is extremely Zen. His house is his niche, he has the good thing there. When I go out, he is very calm and confident. Strangely, but logically, I leave calm. And thanks to him, I love my house even more… It really is what you can call a virtuous relationship .”

* Author of dog psychology and off madness of cats, both at Odile Jacob. ** In Towards the vast sea (Héloïse d’Ormesson), she joined her westie under the name “Mon Pote”.

Our cats… more and more dogs

A kitten that brings back the ball, a bengal that runs in nature with its master, a cat that walks on a leash in the middle of the city… Are our felines becoming more and more… dogs? “It’s quite possible”, Marion Ruffié*, behavioral scientist in the home, in other words “psychologist for cats”, cautiously answers: “It’s a phenomenon that is specific to cities. The masters are looking for a complicity comparable to that which you can share with a dog. With loneliness, withdrawal, celibacy, many of us dream of a small animal that does not let go of us, like a small dog. On social networks the hashtag #chatchien is flourishing. We see kittens transported in backpacks with portholes in the mountains, on a sailboat… and it makes you dream! “Be careful, alert Marion Ruffié, not all cats are capable of this. And although the Maine Coon, the British Shorthair or the Chartreuse have a reputation for being hypersociable, not all individuals are… and breed counts for much less than education. As with children, it is stimuli and respect from the animal that will increase the cat’s sociability. “A well-weaned cat that has not been taken away from its mother too early, spoiled, will have a better chance of developing a bond with its master,” the behaviorist continues. The main thing is not to hold on or control it excessively. “If we cuddle him constantly when he doesn’t want to, he will run away from us. On the other hand, if we leave him alone, with drinks available, without controlling his diet, he will be zen and become more and more cute, even fusion-like,” promises Marion Ruffié.

* Advice on absolutchats.com.

RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisment -

Most Popular

%d bloggers like this: