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Do You Believe Dogs Have Feelings?

h7nlrp2v0g5u48

The reason I ask I suppose this unusual question is our dog is a big part of our family and although we all give him the same love and affection there is one member of the family he seems to miss more when has not been home for a long period of time. When i'm on the phone and i put it on loud speaker as soon as he hears my sons voice he stands on all fours with he's ears pricked up and sometimes runs around the sitting room with excitement. So I was wondering does anyone else out there have a pet dog that might react in a similar way and if so do you believe a dog has feelings.

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McMurphy

scudzilla wrote: »

A lot of you in A&P know of Brodi, posted quite a few pics of her over the years, she's now 8yrs old

4yrs ago we got another dog, same as Brodi, a boxer, he was male, she was female

Now Ozzy grew big, too big, he had heart issues and he died at just over 1yr old, Brodi was devastated, we made the mistake of not taking her to the vets to see his body.

For some weeks after any biscuits she'd get she'd store some, and whenever the front door was open she'd run outside and drop them in garden, guessing in the hope it would entice Ozzy back and that he was just missing, on walks sh'd be peeing every 20 metres or so, probably dropping her scent, she'd never done that before, or after

She used to mammy him so bad and he loved it, we got Piper, a female boxer 2yrs ago, sure she likes Pip but knowhere near on the same scale as she loved Oz, part of her died that day he left us

So yeah, Dogs have feelings

Here's the 2 of them messing, Ozzy was 9 months here, (Bro is in purple collar), he died 3 months later

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6EttlaUQKg

That's about the nicest (but sad at the same time) story I've read in years.

EPAndlee

They do have feelings. I do talk to my dog more than my family. My dog seems to have one feeling and that's mischief. He just disappears into a room and doesn't make a sound for a few minutes and normally he's doing something he shouldtn't

[Deleted User]

Of course they do, but probably not as complex as some would ascribe. They can feel anger, loyalty and other basic emotions because they are animals. But doubt they feel complex emotions, like the feeling that a kid who swats a fly on their back shouldn't get their head savaged off because s/he is too young to understand the reaction it might provoke.

WoollyRedHat

PeterParker957 wrote: »

Absolutely they can. Just told the pup he can't have any Maltesers.

Never seen so much disappointment on one face!

Just told Lord Trobone that rump steak wasn't on the menu tonight and he'd have to hunt for his own dinner. Suffice to say I'm in the dog house.

h7nlrp2v0g5u48

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

So do horses, and pigs, the French eat horses. Look I love dogs I just find the fawning over them ridiculous the way we treat the animals we eat. I doubt piglets are too happy when mother is taken away to be slaughtered but we don't seem to care about that.

You make a valid point but unfortunately when most of us sit down to eat roast beef, ham, or pork sauggeses the last thing on our mind is where it comes from how it was treated and how it affected the other animals around it when it is been taken away to be slaughtered.

Agricola

Rick Shaw wrote: »

Of course they have feelings.

Our dog will cower in a corner looking quite guilty when I get in from work from time to time, usually indicating that he's been at something he shouldn't have. Usually chewed on something or pissed somewhere (he's getting on)

I used to think something similar about a dog I had until I read into it.

Our dog had a terrible habit of going down to the bedrooms when no one was looking and tossing the bedclothes to hell. I met him a couple of times in the hall and let a roar at him to get out of it. He always looked sheepish and guilty when he saw me in the hallway. Anyway, apparently dogs dont do complex emotions like guilt. He was looking sheepish simply because I was shouting at him and he'd always look sheepish in the hallway from then on because thats WHERE I shouted at him. He would never make the connection that I am scolding him for something he did 5 minutes beforehand in a completely different room. And it makes sense really.

But yeah, as regards joy at seeing their owner, sadness when they are apart from them, excitement at going off in the car or for walks.....of course they have those feelings.

myshirt

Of course dogs have feelings, and they care about your feelings. Great companions and friends.

A good bit of advice on confidence building I heard was to 'be the person that your dog thinks you are'. A dog is nearly always in good form with a positive outlook. Remember a dog is one of the only animals who manages to make it through life not having to work, despite having no money. Why do they have no money? It's quite simple. They've no pockets (Jerry Seinfeld). Seriously though remember they rely entirely on the goodwill of others and the ability to connect. Of course they have feelings.

Floki

Are dogs vegetarians now?

peasant

To answer part two of the OP's question...yes, they can also have favourites

ArchXStanton

me_irl wrote: »

Is someone ringing a bell cos I'm salivating like a motherfecker over here.

Pavlov's dog?

https://www.simplypsychology.org/pavlov.html

Oldtree

Yes dogs do. Cats no.

flaneur

Dogs and cats are just very different in how they express themselves and what motivates them.

Dogs are pack animals and need to constantly seek reassurance and approval from the pack and most importantly the pack leadership.

Cats are very social, intelligent animals too. They just have no particular sense that they need approval all the time as they operate quite independently. They will still greet you, snuggle into you, defend the 'pride' and also follow you around the place and expect a lot of attention too and play too.

Vladimir Poontang

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

So do horses, and pigs, the French eat horses. Look I love dogs I just find the fawning over them ridiculous the way we treat the animals we eat. I doubt piglets are too happy when mother is taken away to be slaughtered but we don't seem to care about that.

I don't eat pork. Pigs are filthy animals. Pigs sleep and root in ****. That's a filthy animal.

Pero_Bueno

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

Of course they have feelings. It's only the animals we eat like pigs and cows and sheep etc that don't have feelings.

:D:D:D

[Deleted User]

Dogs very much have feelings. A real life Seymour (of futurama fame)

https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/dog-abandoned-at-airport/

Tell me how

I absolutely think dogs have feelings.

My parents dog will be in bad form for the day if one of them gives out to him. Even over a small thing, he gets very quiet about it.
I always know if something went on earlier by how he is when I pull up outside the house. They don't touch him but even telling him to clear off out of the way seems to bother him.

On the plus side, when they give each other a hug, like just standing in the kitchen for example, he jumps up on his hind legs and joins in. This makes me happy because A, my parents are in their 70's and I like the idea of them giving each other hugs for no particular reason and B, when the dog jumps up, they let him join in.

_Brian

Vladimir Poontang wrote: »

I don't eat pork. Pigs are filthy animals. Pigs sleep and root in ****. That's a filthy animal.

That’s a highly ignorant statement, typical of what you see from people who never bothered to find out the truth.

Given the space pigs never ever lie or root where they go to the toilet. Given space they will consciously dedicate a corner to use as a “bathroom” area and that will be its only use.

We keep pigs for our own consumption, they’re not dirty provided they get the correct space.

Cattle and sheep on the other hand have no clue, no matter what space they have they just shiit everywhere and then lie in it.

_Brian

I’ve once eaten dog when in Asia, it was in a sort of stew.
It was quite disappointing as meat goes, chewey and not too tasty, like a low grade cut of beef. I wouldn’t bother again.

I tried horse a few years ago too, not much different to beef, that’s why so much was substituted into Irish beef factories without too many noticing.

erica74

Of course dogs have feelings, although I don't know (how could anyone?) if their feelings are as complex as human feelings.
We recently had one of our dogs put to sleep, we had 2 big dogs and 2 small dogs, now one of the big dogs is on her own and she does seem lonely. I don't know if she's missing her companion as much as we're missing him.
Dogs certainly know happiness, sadness and fear.

faceman

Dogs like all animal, except evil cats, have emotions. In fact dogs have a genetic defect that enables them to love their family/owners unconditionally. (Almost like William’s Syndrome in humans.) Research has also shown that dogs can read human emotions on our faces.

flaneur wrote: »

Dogs are pack animals and need to constantly seek reassurance and approval from the pack and most importantly the pack leadership.

Dogs are not pack animals. That theory was debunked a long time ago (originally by the guy who came up with theory!). But they do seek approval, attention and affection from their human family like you say though.

AudreyHepburn

Of course they do, to think otherwise is at best foolish, at worst cruel.

I remember we sent Homer, the older of our two boys, to a kennel while we went abroad about 10 years ago (we had only him at the time) and he was depressed for a week when he came home. I think he must have thought we’d abandoned him 😢

We never did it again to either of them.

There’s no question in my mind that the happiness and excitement when we walk in the door or pick up their leads or put their food down is real.

Our two are part of the family now and I honestly believe they think they’re human!

s7ryf3925pivug

There is a great deal of evidence demonstrating they have feelings, including "human" feelings like empathy. They are highly advanced socially and generally understand us better than we them.

topper75

Floki wrote: »

Are dogs vegetarians now?

They certainly are not. Ever.

But they can't do well on pure meat either. They are not wolves, despite what some think.

There is debate on the optimum protein-carb mixture.

If in doubt toss them a sardine! :-) they love it and it shows in the coat and eyes within days.

They certainly have feelings. They have full loyalty, and don't quite get it when not always reciprocated.

Canis Lupus

I think maybe they have the basics. Nothing terribly complex. Humans however are great at anthropomorphism so I imagine a lot of people think dogs 'feel' more than they actually do.

ace_irl

They 100% have feelings, my girl fully interacts with us at home. She even gives the cold shoulder when you've annoyed her. She sighs and moans when she wants attention or is annoyed and she understands our own emotions. The sheer joy on her face when she gets to go for a walk or you open a tin of tuna for her. She suffers when certain people are out of the house and misses them.

They 100% have favorites as well. She's obese with me and my dad and just about tolerates my sister. Shes a white GS so I'm fairly certain she's smarter then me!

After reading this thread, I can not wait to go home and give her a cuddle.

pgj2015

_Brian wrote: »

That’s a highly ignorant statement, typical of what you see from people who never bothered to find out the truth.

Given the space pigs never ever lie or root where they go to the toilet. Given space they will consciously dedicate a corner to use as a “bathroom” area and that will be its only use.

We keep pigs for our own consumption, they’re not dirty provided they get the correct space.

Cattle and sheep on the other hand have no clue, no matter what space they have they just shiit everywhere and then lie in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA_Tl1kvlQU

chrissb8

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

Yes. Cats and dogs do. They're more intelligent than people think they are.

A dog looks you in the eye as it's s******g and then will eat that s**t. I think we can put a cap on their intelligence at a point

wakka12

They just do. No two ways about it. My dog is so in touch with our family members emotions. She reflects off our own moods and it clearly changes her mood outwardly and its very apparent.Sometimes when I look into my little doggy's big brown empathetic eyes all I can think is you must be a reincarnated human, and what a beautifully amazing human you would have been. Wish I could meet you.

mightyreds

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Dogs very much have feelings. A real life Seymour (of futurama fame)

https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/dog-abandoned-at-airport/

Reminds me of this

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AK3PWHxoT_E

corner of hells

Vladimir Poontang wrote: »

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

So do horses, and pigs, the French eat horses. Look I love dogs I just find the fawning over them ridiculous the way we treat the animals we eat. I doubt piglets are too happy when mother is taken away to be slaughtered but we don't seem to care about that.

I don't eat pork. Pigs are filthy animals. Pigs sleep and root in ****. That's a filthy animal.

"Puts down rasher sammich".
It's a batch loaf sammich with butter and tomato sauce.
And tae.