Instinct is either natural or learned behavior.
Instinct is not love.
God gave Animals Instinct to take care of their kind. They do not have a choice in the matter.
Animals contain varying levels of Intelligence. Their Intelligence enables them to learn or be trained to behave certain ways.
Learned behavior does not constitute love.
Animals are incapable of love.
Humans can love Animals but Animals cannot love Humans.
Manifesting love to a an Animal is training them to respond in specific ways.
These ways are not love although they appear to be love. This is because the Animal is immitating the Human acts of love.
Now people can choose to love anything they want.
I love my car because it looks good, drives good and is always there for me. Since my car is innanimate I am not tempted to think it loves me in return.
Unfortunately, Hunans are Deceived by 'love' all the time. They think a certain person loves them the way they do only, only to find out later they were Deceived.
With Animals, there is no Deceit. Why? Because they never love. They simply are conditioned to behave a certain way and continue to do so until they are conditioned otherwise.
Remember, God never told us to Love anything in Creation other than Himself and Humans.
Matthew 22
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart , and with all thy Soul , and with all thy Mind.
38 This is the first and Great Commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt Love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.
Why? Nothing in this world is Eternal except Himself and Humans.
So, we can waste our energies, resources, focus and love on temporal things if we want.
But lay up for yourselves Treasures in Heaven , where neither moth nor rust doth Corrupt , and where thieves do not break through nor Steal :
Again, the only things that are Eternal are God and Humans.