Do Dogs Express Emotion?

[misdemeanorsmom]

I read or saw on TV some dog expert, who stated "One of the biggest mistakes people make is to attribute human emotions to dogs." I've been mulling over this for years, and I just don't get it. IMO, dogs on a daily basis express very clear emotions, and the same ones I feel: Happiness, anger, fright, uncertainty, jealousy, love, etc. And they express these very clearly without words.

They respond to different stimuli just like I do. They have likes and dislikes. They can prefer one toy or friend over another. They generally bond to one family member more strongly than the others.

Anyway, I think they do express emotion just like we do. Opinions?

[LilacDragon]

My dog "loves" me but I am sure that if something should happen and he had to live with someone else - he would "love" them too.

Since we, as humans, have no real concept as to how dogs think we tend to think that they think like we do. They don't.

I don't know how many times I have read people's post where they think that their dog is angry with them and is acting out. Dogs aren't people - they don't get angry like humans do and they are not vindictive like people do. Don't believe me - look at some of the really suck-ups in rescue that have been so abused that they are lucky to be alive. Or mill rescues that overcome the abuse to become wonderful pets that love everyone they meet.

I am my dog's favorite human. This is because I spent every single day with him for over a year. I am sure that if I disappeared for a month and someone else spent 24 hours a day with him while I was gone - they would quickly become his favorite human.

[Cassiepeia]

It's not that they don't have emotions or express them....it's that they don't have 'human' emotions. As lilacdragon said..they don't think like humans.

All mammals have emotions and express these on a daily basis, but it doesn't mean that they're identical in meaning or motivation to human emotions.

Cass.

[KennelMom]

What Cass said <<nodding>>

[DogLover8]

I agree with Cassiepeia.

[britishbandit]

Originally Posted by KennelMom

What Cass said <<nodding>>

Hahaha, I agree. You're too funny KennelMom! LOL

[calgal]

Here are some emotions our fur-kids have: Fear, cold, warmth, pain, joy, sadness, anger, amusement, optimism, anticipation, attachment, satisfaction, love, dislike, contientment, calm, anxious, sleepy, tired, sick and hunger.

[TinyAlbinoDancer]

I think dogs definitely have emotions, but how similar their's are to us human's is debateable, because we automatically chalk their behaviors up to OUR emotions which clouds our perception of things. Knowing we'd feel sad and miserable in a pound's chain link kennel causes us to attribute the expression in the dog's eyes to sadness, when really it may be fear or illness. So I fully agree with the "TV dog expert" who cited that as a huge mistake.

And I really don't agree that dogs show anger or spite.

[Beryl]

I agree with most of what has already been said. They have emotions but we have no other terms besides human emotions to describe them.

[Rivsky]

I completely agree with Cass as well!

[DogLover8]

I agree with TinyAlbinoDancer as well.

[Swiftwind]

Yes, dogs do express emotion, but not all their feelings can be linked to the way we, as humans, feel. For example, can you imagine a dog having these feelings: regret, spite, malicious thoughts, lust.. They just aren't emotions dogs would feel, and I think it can be dangerous to link these emotions to dogs, because you are then misjudging what they are trying to really tell you.

[misdemeanorsmom]

I didn't say spite. I think spite is a little to complex, and involves forethought and rationalization that dogs don't do. I do know Missy "acts out" when I don't provide what she wants in a timely fashion. (ie: if she wants to go out, and I'm laying on the couch ((not lazy, just had surgery)), she will whine at me, then paw me, then jump up and down on top of me until I get up. And if I don't, she'll go get my fuzzy cow slipper and prance back and forth in front of me, to be sure I see and know she's got it. Then if I still don't respond, she'll drop it and go do whatever.) I'd call that acting out. But, TinyAlbinoDancer, why not anger? Anger is a pretty elemental emotion. Aren't they angry when they're fighting? They may not be able to think in a two-step process. If they eat bad meat and get ill, they know they're ill, but not necessarily that the meat made them sick. If they're in a dog fight (god forbid), adreniline is pumping and I'd have to call it anger. They can make the connection between pain and what is causing it, and they certainly know it is the other dog causing the pain, and so are they not angry at whatever is causing them pain? But maybe I do get it now. We're using the only words we've got to try and describe what we believe they're feeling/thinking. I don't think our mistake is attributing these emotions to them. The mistake is expecting a response like ours would be to any given situation. They don't deal with, nor do they always express these emotions in the same ways we do.

[misdemeanorsmom]

And by the way, can someone please tell me, what is LOL???!!! I get IMO/JMO (in my opinion/just my opinion) and some of the others, but not LOL. Loads of laughs? Lots of Luck? Live on Land? Like Old Ladies?

[DFrost]

Dogs live in the moment. Most of what they do are results of instinct, environment or learned behaviors. Humans might translate the actions as emotions, but I believe it's merely a response from one of the areas I mentioned.

DFrost