A guest post from Sarah.

I have only recently made the acquaintance of Sarah’s blog The Two Of Us but it already has been a delight. So much so that I reached out to Sarah and asked if she would like to be a guest author. I am delighted to report that Sarah was pleased to do so.

First, let me add a little more about her blog. The Two Of Us has a sub-title of A college student and a Border Collie stumbling through life.

Next, Sarah explained in an email to me that:

I’m Sarah and my dog is Brèagha. She’s a Border Collie and I’m a college student hoping to become an animal behaviorist of some sort. Brèagha and I have been together for 3 years, and they have been the best three years of my life so far.

So with no further ado, here is Sarah’s guest post.

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Every breath you take

By Sarah, November 6th, 2020

One of the things you get used to when you have a herdy type of dog (especially a Border Collie) is the staring. They stare. And they stare intensely. Your own personal stalker.

One of those things that might be rated “annoying” for some but definitely falls under “endearing” for me.

I love every last weird thing about her.

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Now that last picture reminds me of a recent post on Learning from Dogs, namely The dog world! where I republished the scientific work by Ellen Furlong, Associate Professor of Psychology, Illinois Wesleyan University.

In her report Ellen said, and I quote an extract from that post:

A recent study found that dogs that have been deprived of food and owners choose to greet their owners before eating. Further, their brain’s reward centers “light up” upon smelling their owners. And, when your eyes meet your dog’s, both your brains release oxytocin, also know as the “cuddle hormone.”

All of this research shows that you can make your dog happier with just one ingredient: you. Make more eye contact to release that cuddle hormone. Touch it more – dogs like pats better than treats! Go ahead and “baby talk” to your dog – it draws the dog’s attention to you more and may strengthen your bond.

So that second photograph of Brèagha is a prime example of her meeting Sarah’s eyes and should be held as long as both dog and human can manage.

Wonderful!

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