Do Our Dogs Love Us or Have We Just Given Them Stockholm Syndrome?

I’ve been thinking about this question a lot recently. Does my dog really love me or is that fact that humans domesticated dogs just a widely accepted Stockholm Syndrome situation? Why did humans one day decide that dogs were the ideal animal to domesticate? My dog, Ellie Mae, is the cutest mix of Shih Tzu and Yorkie, and I love her to pieces. She loves me as well, but is it the forced love of an owner like those who have suffered from Stockholm Syndrome? If you’re not aware of the term Stockholm Syndrome, here’s a definition:

“Feelings of trust or affection felt in many cases of kidnapping or hostage-taking by a victim toward a captor.”

Now, I am in no way saying that you owning a cute little pup is morally wrong. But, when you think about it, as I have been for the past few weeks, young dogs are taken from their litters as soon as it is possible to be away from their mother and placed in an unknown situation with strange, and much larger, life forms. They must quickly adapt to this sudden change of surroundings and submit to their new owner. They grow trusting and grow to love people who have taken them from their family, similar to victims of Stockholm Syndrome. We adopted my dog at nine weeks and have loved her for seven years. But now, I can not stop thinking about my dog having Stockholm Syndrome.