What is it with patting or rubbing pets?

yes, "aasurance" , so together with goodhunter's comment, assurance and acceptance are is the key.

Yes, think "acceptance" is a good key word to human to pet relationship

that also depends on the individual animal. when I put a fresh bowl of food in my rats cage, Willow goes straight to the bowl to see what's for dinner, and Alice comes to the door for a cuddle.

yes , good thing you reminded me of that tummy scratch, they like it there too same as in the head or under the chin. My other dog gets to sleep when I give him a tummy scratch

That's a real good point. She begins cleaning them and "rubbing" them with her tongue as soon as they are born and there just may be a connection there. Like a comfort thing!

Perhaps i think with them it started out when their moms when she first licked them while their eyes were still closed

Hiya louie, Golden Retrievers are beautiful Dogs and really cute as Puppies as well. They are very affectionate Dogs mainly and they love to be outside and the centre of attention. We have a few around here and they behave very well. When it´s warmer one of them likes to stretch himself out on a Park Bench in the Heat of the Sun and close his eyes for about 15 minutes he is a world of his own. His owner cannot get him to move from there but when the 15 minutes is up he is up and away again. Dogs don´t need watches they have one inside them somewhere. I ran after a cross bred Black Labrador Puppy this Morning as the young Girl was going frantic trying to catch him or her. She is a beautiful Puppy with a lot of strength too she´s called Luna (Moon). She needs training a lot that one but she does like you to make a fuss of her.

oh yes I'm a Labrador lover, a few years back I had a show type English Lab that I had gotten so attached to, so intelligent, when it passed away, I could not seem to get over it, even the kids, I made a pastel sketch of him but can't seem to find it, hope I can find it so I can upload, maybe that's why my loving wife bought a golden retriever so me and my children could get across the lose

hi, nice to have somebody from your country respond, yes we recently got a golden retriever pup. great companion and like you said relieves stress, stroke him just enough or else she won't like it

Yes dogs love human masters because they depend on us, we love them in return because they bring us joy and happiness

yes you are correct,both love mutually.

for sure they do. thanks for the response

Yes, majority of us believes and does benefit from the therapeutic, soothing or even magical way our pets give to us, it's like give and take but pets seem to have simpler motives because they are unaffected by materialism so it's purer

Pack behavior is exhibited by dogs, and I don't think that it is just belonging to the pack that they want to do although you are correct there, they also want to please the Alpha, which is us and get some kind of reward in return, better than people cause they don't ask for money, thank you for responding

I have observed my pet cats and and I agree with you, they seem to love it more under the chin , yes they also like to rub the whole body in my legs especially if they want something, dogs seem to want it mare in the head

Yes interactionbetween mammals even of different spcies is very enjoyable and fulfilling, it's like I'm being called for lunch and I'm still playing with my pets so in a way it supersedes hunger haha

Yes could be a different thing but like I mentioned above, I would say they compliment each other, thanks for the good response

Yes touch is a form of communication, good point, combine that loving stroke with a food reward which is also a basic instinct, yeah could double the effect.

Oh that's very sweet, it's like saying, " you can bother to give me the treat later but for the meantime hugs would be fine"

My dogs love that too, it's like kinda reward they expect from us if they respond to us calling them , wish people would be much simpler and accept rewards or acknowledgements like that, but people just need more than a pat in the head

Oh yes, thanks for reminding all of us about the wagging of tails and purring, it's like an acknowledgement . Good point you have that it's not only the pet that benefits, but also master's can get out stress so that make the relationship symbiotic.

Yes maam, seems like it's also part of pack behavior since dog are pack animals. Just wondering if animals that do not belong to packs respond the same way to a pat in the head.

Yeah, petting is like an assurance to them,I had also observed that dogs seem to like it on their nose or in the head region whereas cats prefer it under the chin um... I wonder why

hi sender, like what others are saying, it is an "assurance" thing for them and we have to do it continuously , thank you for your response

very true, hahaha