Tilknytning mellom hund og menneske har i de senere årene får mer og mer oppmerksomhet og det er også gjort flere studier på tilknytning mellom hund og menneske.Tilknytning er en relasjon mellom to individer. Tilkytningsteori ble utviklet hos mennesker hvor en så at barn trengte en omsorgsperson for å gi sosial og følelsesmessig støtte slik at barnet utviklet seg normalt. Barn bruker en omsorgsperson bl.a. som en sikker base å utforske verden fra iflg John Bowlby . Bowlbys kollega Mary Ainsworth utviklet en test som kalles Ainsworth Strange Situation Test for å se hva slags tilknytning barn har til sin omsorgsperson (vanligvis mor).Med bakgrunn i kjent tilknytningsteori hos mennesker har en i de senere år sett på disse modellene/teoriene på relasjonen mellom hund og menneske. En av de første som publiserte en artikkel om dette kunne fortelle at hunder knytter seg til eier langs en sikker/usikker tilknytningsdimensjon akkurat slik vi ser hos mennesker og sjimpanser.
Referanser:
Topál, József; Miklósi, Ádám; Csányi, Vilmos og Dóka, Antal (1998) Attachment Behavior in Dogs (Canis familiaris):A New Application of Ainsworth's (1969) Strange Situation Test. Journal of Comparative Psychology. 1998, Vol. 112, No. 3,219-229
Prato-Previde, Emanuela; Mary, Custance, Deborah Spiezio Caterina and Sabatini Francesca (2003) Is the Dog-Human Relationship an Attachment Bond? An Observational Study Using Ainsworth's Strange Situation. Behaviour Vol. 140, No. 2 (Feb., 2003), pp. 225-254Clara Palestrini, Emanuela Prato Previde, Caterina Spiezio, Marina Verga(2005) Heart rate and behavioural responses of dogs in the Ainsworth's Strange Situation: A pilot study. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. Volume 94, Issue 1 , Pages 75-88, October 2005.Robyn Palmer ogDeborah Custance (2008) A counterbalanced version of Ainsworth's Strange Situation Procedure reveals secure-base effects in dog–human relationships. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. Volume 109, Issues 2–4, February 2008, Pages 306–319József Topál, Márta Gácsi, Ádám Miklósi, Zsófia Virányi, Enik? Kubinyi og Vilmos Csányi (2005) Attachment to humans: a comparative study on hand-reared wolves and differently socialized dog puppies. Animal Behaviour. Volume 70, Issue 6, December 2005, Pages 1367–1375Márta Gácsi, József Topál, Ádám Miklósi, Antal Dóka, and Vilmos Csányi (2001) Attachment Behavior of Adult Dogs (Canis familiaris) Living at Rescue Centers: Forming New Bonds. Journal of Comparative Psychology. 2001, Vol. 115, No. 4, 423-431Ádám Miklósi, Enikö Kubinyi, József Topál, Márta Gácsi, Zsófia Virányi, Vilmos Csányi (2003) A Simple Reason for a Big Difference: Wolves Do Not Look Back at Humans, but Dogs Do. Current Biology. Volume 13, Issue 9, 29 April 2003, Pages 763–766Crawford, Emily K.; Worsham, Nancy L.; Swinehart, Elizabeth R. (2006) Benefits derived from companion animals, and the use of the term "attachment". Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, Volume 19, Number 2, 2006 , pp. 98-112(15)E. Prato-Previde, S. Marshall-Pescini, P. Valsecchi (2008) Is your choice my choice? The owners’ effect on pet dogs’ (Canis lupus familiaris) performance in a food choice task. Animal Cognition. January 2008, Volume 11, Issue 1, pp 167-174Valli Parthasarathy og Sharon L. Crowell-Davis,(2006) Relationship between attachment to owners and separation anxiety in pet dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research. Volume 1, Issue 3, November–December 2006, Pages 109–120Gaia Fallania, Emanuela Prato Previdea, Paola Valsecchib (2006) Do disrupted early attachments affect the relationship between guide dogs and blind owners? Applied Animal Behaviour Science. Volume 100, Issues 3–4, November 2006, Pages 241–257