Do Dogs and Other Animals Really Make Friends? They Do!

"While an increasingly small number of people, especially academic researchers, try to argue that nonhuman animals (animals) don't really make friends, most people, including both researchers and non-researchers, know from simple observation and experience that a wide variety of animals do, indeed, make friends and form long-term friendships within and between species. Consider dog-human relationships and those with other companion animals. Dogs and cats also can become close friends and engage in rough-and-tumble play-fighting."

"While they may not write love letters or send texts or make phone calls, many animals use pee-mail-different odors or combinations thereof-and other subtle signals that are beyond our own capacity to see, hear, or smell, and these communiques serve to make friends and sustain relationships over long periods of time. When you consider their lifestyles and how they communicate with one another, they clearly express friendship and love in ways different from but no less valid than how we do."

A wide variety of nonhuman animals form enduring friendships both within and across species, supported by research and everyday observation. Dogs, cats, and other animals can establish long-term social bonds, engage in play, and teach social norms to companions. Animals possess cognitive and emotional capacities that enable friendship formation and maintenance. Many species use species-specific communication—such as scent-based "pee-mail" and subtle signals beyond human perception—to create and sustain relationships over time. A general drive for close connection underlies these relationships, which provide trust, safety, and the positive experience of relying on others.

Read at Psychology Today