The bond between a dog-lover and their pooch is one of the strongest bonds in the world. Now, a team of researchers from Japan believe they have uncovered the science behind this phenomenon.

During a recent study, scientists from Azabu University found that when a dog owner stares into their dog’s eyes, that person experiences a rush of a hormone called oxytocin. According to The Guardian,

“The same hormone has been shown to spike in mothers’ brains when they look into their children’s eyes. The physiological response drives maternal caring and strengthens the bond between mothers and their babies.”

The researchers discovered that the longer a dog gazed at their owner, the higher his or her oxytocin levels rose.

But that’s not all they uncovered. The scientists also found that the dogs themselves experienced a similar spike in oxytocin levels when gazing into their owner’s eyes. This phenomenon was nowhere to be seen when the same experiment was carried out using hand-raised wolves.

“This might be why the human-dog relationship seems to work so well,” says Takefumi Kikusui, one of the researchers involved in the study.

So basically, when you and your dog stare at each other, neither of you can help feeling a strong urge to nurture, protect and love each other. But if you’re a dog-lover, you probably didn’t need science to tell you that.

Read the full story from The Guardian.