Wondering if dogs "make friends" is a waste of time; science shows they do

A few weeks ago I received an email from Karen asking, "Does my dog Shara really make friends with other animals?" Karen made it clear she was referring to nonhuman animals (animals) especially dogs, rather than human animals, as she also wrote, "I'm sure Shara is my friend." Whenever I get this sort of question, the first response is to write something like, "Of course she/he does. You can see it—and often feel it—when they effusively greet one another, when they play with one another, when they actively seek one another out even if other dogs are around, when they clearly miss the presence of another dog or grieve their absence, and when they occasionally groom one another," and then move on to something else that's sitting on my desk or showing on my computer screen. However, when I wrote this short reply to Karen, she immediately wrote back to me and mentioned that some of her human friends at the dog park to which she takes Shara said they'd read something that researchers still wonder if dogs and other animals make friends with other nonhumans, even if it's clear they make friends with humans. Both Karen and I wonder why it's clear that dogs make friends with humans, but some people still claim we really don't know whether they make friends with other dogs or with other nonhumans. (See "Odd Couples Redux: Animals Make Friends with Other Species" and "Odd Couples: Compassion Doesn't Know Species Lines" for discussions of cross-species relationships among different nonhumans, including dogs.)

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Science shows the important question is why animals form friendships, not if they do

When I looked up definitions for the word "friend," not surprisingly, a good number came up, and many used the word "person" in how they cashed out the meaning of the word. I like this simple and generic definition, namely, "a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations," excluding, of course, the word "person."

This brief exchange with Karen and a few other people over the past few years motivated me to revisit the general question, "Do dogs make friends?" A few years ago I wrote an essay called "Friends With Benefits," noting that there is solid evidence and solid evolutionary arguments on the nature of friendships in animals and on the origins of friendships in humans. An excellent summary of this topic is in a review essay published in the Annual Review of Psychology by renowned researchers Robert Seyfarth and the late Dorothy Cheney called "The Evolutionary Origins of Friendship." The abstract for this landmark essay reads, "Convergent evidence from many species reveals the evolutionary origins of human . In horses, elephants, hyenas, dolphins, monkeys, and chimpanzees, some individuals form friendships that last for years. Bonds occur among females, among males, or between males and females. Genetic relatedness affects friendships. In species where males disperse, friendships are more likely among females. If females disperse, friendships are more likely among males. Not all friendships, however, depend on kinship; many are formed between unrelated individuals. Friendships often involve cooperative interactions that are separated in time. They depend, at least in part, on the and emotions associated with past interactions." Clearly, the important question is why animals form friendships, not if they do. Drs. Seyfarth and Cheney go on to write, "Applying the term 'friendship' to animals is not anthropomorphic: Many studies have shown that the animals themselves recognize others' relationships. Friendships are adaptive. Male allies have superior competitive ability and improved reproductive success; females with the strongest, most enduring friendships experience less stress, higher infant survival, and live longer."

Another good summary of friendships in nonhumans is in an essay by Susan Gaidos titled "Furry Friends Forever: Humans aren’t the only animals who benefit from having someone to count on." This essay is only available to subscribers, but some snippets from Ms. Gaidos' piece read: Many of the behaviors that hint at animal friendships have been observed in the field. Studies of monkeys, horses and chimpanzees reveal that individuals are selective about whom they spend time with or feed near. Some male chimpanzees are more likely to hang out together, groom each other, share meat and accompany one another on hunts or border patrols. Female baboons will groom some peers more than others, and are more likely to come to the aid of someone who recently groomed them...Findings suggest chimps are motivated to cooperate with non-relatives, not just close kin. Studies of dolphins, horses, lions and chimpanzees show that even unrelated animals often form stable bonds lasting for years. And evidence indicates that one animal may do something costly to help a non-relative, while receiving a benefit later. Friendship is especially beneficial for animals without relatives to help them out."

What about dogs? Why are they excluded from discussions about friendships among nonhumans?

What struck me about Drs. Seyfarth and Cheney's essay is the absence of dogs in their discussion of the evolution of friendships. For example, they wrote, "Convergent evidence from many species reveals the evolutionary origins of human friendship. In horses, elephants, hyenas, dolphins, monkeys, and chimpanzees, some individuals form friendships that last for years." In another essay (available only to subscribers to New Scientist) by noted researcher Dr. Robin Dunbar called "Friendship: Do animals have friends, too?" we read, "MOST animals have acquaintances but only a few species are capable of true friendship. This select group of mammals includes the higher primates, members of the horse family, elephants, cetaceans and camelids. It is no coincidence that all of these animals live in stable, bonded social groups. Group living has its benefits, but it can also be and you cannot simply leave when the going gets tough – which is where friendship comes in. Friends form defensive coalitions that keep everyone else just far enough away, without driving them off completely."

Dr. Dunbar also writes, "It takes to live in a bonded, layered social system." For him, "a bonded, layered social system" refers to different networks of friendships and other social relationships. Research show dogs are plenty smart and have rich cognitive and emotional lives and really aren't all that different from many other animals who these and other researchers claim are able to make friends. (Birds also get short shrift when many researchers discuss non-human friendships. However, when I ask people about this they often respond in the same way in which people respond about their and other dogs.)

There's also no mention of dogs in Dr. Dunbar's piece. It's possible that these researchers along with some others who, when they write about friendships in nonhumans, exclude dogs, are doing it because dogs are artificially selected designed-by humans domesticated animals and forces of natural selection don't work on them as they do on wild animals. However, this doesn't mean that dogs don't form friendships that might function in some of the same ways in which they do in non-domesticated species.

Here's an example where academics gets in the way of common sense.

"There's no reason to exclude dogs or other companion animals from conversations about the nature of nonhuman friendships. A visit to a dog park or other places where dogs can run free and decide for themselves the individuals with whom they want to interact and how, shows they can form layered social interactions just like other animals. Dogs certainly have the cognitive and emotional capacities to form deep and enduring friendships and they're surely intelligent enough to do so."

Karen also wrote, "Here's an example where academics gets in the way of common sense." I couldn't agree more. When I asked a number of people the question, "Do dogs make friends?" not a single person said "No." Their answers included, "Of course they do, what a stupid question," "Why us and not them?" "Do you academics really spend your time asking questions like this?" "Wow, are you kidding?" "My dog has zillions of doggie and other animal friends," "Hmmm, I never thought about this, but the answer is clear -- of course they do," "How can anyone who lives with a dog really wonder if they make friends with other dogs or other animals?" and "This question says more about your colleagues than it does about dogs and other animals."

It's obvious dogs and other nonhumans make friends with other nonhumans, there's solid scientific evidence they do so, and knowing this can help humans give their dogs (and other companion animals) the best lives possible by giving them ample opportunity to hang out with these individuals and do whatever they like to do with these special individuals, their close friends. Science sense and common sense make it clear that the answer to the question "Do dogs make friends with other animals" is a resounding "Yes!" It doesn't really matter if they're designed by humans.

Along these lines, Ms. Gaidos writes, "All together, findings from recent studies suggest that the desire to have a trusted companion is a deep need in mammals, humans included, [Catherine] Crockford [of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland] says. Knowing this about mammals is sort of a reminder to us, that we can eat as much good food as we want or have as much money as we want, but if we don’t have at least one or two close relationships that we can depend on, life is going to be more difficult for us.”

I'm glad Karen wrote to me because questions such as "Do dogs make friends with other animals?" come up from time-to-time. Myths about dog behavior abound, and when facts, along with a healthy dose of common sense replace beliefs and myths, it'll be a win-win for all. (See "The Minds and Hearts of Dogs: Facts, Myths, and In-Betweens," "Let's Give Dogs a Break by Distinguishing Myths From Facts," Canine Confidential: Why Dogs Do What They Do, Unleashing Your Dog: A Field Guide to Giving Your Canine Companion the Best Life Possible, and references therein.)

I look forward to more discussions about the nature of friendships in a wide variety of nonhumans, including dogs and other companion animals. Perhaps we'll learn more about the nature of friendships among non-domesticated species when we pay close to what we learn about the friendly beings with whom we share our homes.

There's no reason to exclude dogs or other companion animals from conversations about the nature of nonhuman friendships. A visit to a dog park or other places where dogs can run free and decide for themselves the individuals with whom they want to interact and how, shows they can form layered social interactions just like other animals. Dogs certainly have the cognitive and emotional capacities to form deep and enduring friendships and they're surely smart enough to do so.