Do Dogs feel Emotion?

One of hardest parts of leaving home before school started was saying bye to the world’s greatest friend: my dog. As emotional I was, I could only wonder if he felt the same way or could sense/understand the strong feelings I had at the time. I’ve only been told that dogs are smart, but never fully could figure out if he was able to feel emotions just as humans do.

Recent studies have provided information that dogs have the similar brain structure as humans in terms of our emotions. Just like us, they have hormones and undergo the same chemical changes in their brain in body that we do when we experience a change in our feelings and emotional states. While we are both made up of the same contents, it is easy to conclude that dogs feel emotions similar to ours. It is apparent that dogs have a lesser range of emotions than we are able to feel, but still have some sort of emotional state. During infancy and younger ages of our lives, we have a limited amount of emotions we are able to access and call upon. Researchers believe this is how the emotions of a dog work. They have less developed, limited emotions compared to the average aged human. They are able to feel basic emotions; sad, love, happy, fear and even anger.

A recent study was tested to try and provide evidence that dogs are able to feel emotions even beyond the basics. A small sample group of 16 dogs all of different breeds, pugs, dachshunds, corgis and terriers, were chosen to interact in a room as their owner played with 3 different such as a stuffed animal dog, pumpkin and a children’s book. While the owner ultimately ignored their presence, the dogs displayed jealous behaviors as their owner interacted with the other objects AND ignored them. While this was experimental, it could have been executed better. It seems that the dogs chosen were smaller, less violent breeds. If many different types of dogs were used, such as big, small, loud, old, young, etc. you could get a better idea if this jealousy only pertains to a certain group, or the dog population in general. While this study is helpful in providing information about dog emotions, it is not conclusive on the topic. More studies need to be done to further develop which types of emotions dogs can and cannot feel.

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As I look forward to seeing my little companion again soon, I can only hope he is just as emotional and feeling the same about our reunion!

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/25/living/study-dogs-jealousy/

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201303/which-emotions-do-dogs-actually-experience

2 thoughts on “Do Dogs feel Emotion?

  1. Nicole Rene Gelb

    Hey Kelsey, such a cool topic, I think dogs are very capable of experiencing emotion. I can tell when my dog is sad and he just lays in his bed and his eyes are wet, he gets jealous when i pet other dogs and barks loudly, and when he is happy he cuddles up next to me and licks me while wagging his tail. Dogs definitely have emotions and express them pretty clearly. Heres a link to a website that has more information on this subject http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201303/which-emotions-do-dogs-actually-experience

  2. Heather Elise Wagner

    awwwwww your dog is so cute! I definitely think that dogs can feel emotions. They always seem elated when their owners are home and depressed when they leave them for long periods of time. My friend dog-sat as her part time job so I got to witness a large variety of dogs and their own variety of emotion. It definitely extends beyond happy and sad, like you stated in your article dogs appear to become jealous as well. But I have also noticed that they can appear scared or angry or sad, especially when their owners are expressing these emotions as well. This article has more information about dogs and emotions that may interest you. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/08/dog-sad-owner-study-human-emotions_n_1581051.html

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