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Pigs are social but only dogs are attached - EurekAlert
Researchers at the ELTE Department of Ethology in Budapest investigated whether an infant-mother analog attachment bond arises in intensively human-socialized companion pigs towards their owners similar to companion dogs. Using the so-called “Strange Situation Test,” they compared the behaviors of young companion pigs and dogs towards their owner and a stranger. They found that dogs, but not pigs, exhibited the specific behavior pattern typical of the attachment bond. These findings suggest that the domestication process and intense early exposure to humans alone are not sufficient to trigger human-analog attachment in companion animals. In the case of dogs, the unique selection for cooperation with and dependency on humans might be the key feature for the emergence of attachment to the caregiver.
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