What emotions do you think GSDs feel? give an example of how you saw that emotion expressed by your GSD. For example I think Zeeva feels guilty if I scold her for not heeling properly. She expresses it by putting her ears back and correcting herself with blinking puppy eyes.
The emotions I most wonder about are: do they understand the concept of fairness? Love? Anger (not human being angry but do they get angry?) Etc...
Yeah, I mean I am not trying to say that what they are felling is guilt. But I just dont see how it can be said they have no knowledge of ever of doing something wrong. But I see what you are saying, and it makes good sense, they might not be associating directly with what it was they had done wrong (i.e. chewing something or pottying in the house or whatever), but I do think they remember they did something that they can associated with a displeasure from the owner. Or else why would they be acting funny before you (general you) even know they did anything wrong.
dogs feel towards you depending on how they are raised by you or how you treat them since the point you get them. so yes its different. my dog knows when he messes up just by my tone of voice or if i get home and see things out of order and ask him what happend and why he did it he just heels down folds the ears back and looks for a news paper and folds back the ears . when we going out just me and him on walks bike rides or to do ON leach activity he gets exited and spins in circles around me untill i put the leach on. so they show emotion and they know , they look at you dead in the eyes everytime they see you so that feeling that you feel towards them somehow they know and feed off of it... my .02
Everything they do is playing you like a book. How else did it come about that we feed and house them. My friend refers to his pitbills stare as jedi mind tricks= you will play ball with me.
My Lab showed signs of "guilt", whenever he ate something he wasn't supposed to or got into the trash for a snack. I could always tell by his behavior, as a matter of fact his behavior was the sign that always prompted me to search the house. He would look all pitiful upon seeing me and act like an abused dog, shaking and head down. Mind you, I had this dog since he was 8 weeks old, and I never hit him! And while my Lab was acting guilty, my Maltese was not. So, it was definitely not related to my behavior.
I take offense when people say that "guilty" behavior is a sign of previous abuse, unless a loud "no" followed by taking away a candy wrapper from him is considered abusive.
I'm going to answer this without fully screening the thread.
I swear my girl understands everything I say. She has also always loved to 'pay me back' for things (and only in front of me, otherwise what is the point?) for things that I do that upset her. She's pretty much proved to me through the years she very much feels and has her own emotions. I think it's a breed characteristic, as not all dogs are like this. Hounds for example tend to be 'cut off' from their owners the certainly don't shadow their owners like GSD tend to want to.
Anthropomorphism or personification is any attribution of human characteristics (or characteristics assumed to belong only to humans) to other animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities.
From Wikipedia.
I personally have not seen my dog cry yet, but maybe some day when I tell him we are not going for a walk.
"As a result, Custance and Meyer concede that “we in no way claim that the present study provides definitive answers to the question of empathy in dogs.” However, they feel justified to state that their study “sets out a profitable direction for further study.” "
Didn't see where it said that dogs have human emotions - mostly about a dogs reaction to a crying individual.
And as we all well know, dogs do respond very well to human body language! Certasinly does not suggest that dogs experience human like emotions.
If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I'd like to come back as an ethologist in the future. Just like we can look back and say, "Wow, I can't believe they didn't think a dog could feel pain" maybe some day they'll look back on us and say the same thing about having emotions.
They may not experience the full range of human emotion, but from my experience with the dogs and cats I have encountered throughout my life, I would say yes to at least basic emotions.
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