In the News: Tails of Marin

Emotions, including pain and sadness, come with four legs, too

By Trish King

Not too long ago, I got a call from a person who wondered whether animals had emotions. It seems he had a bet with a friend who thought that dogs - and other animals - didn't feel anger, sorrow or worry.

This is not new. In the 1600s the philosopher Rene Descartes argued that all animals were just machines that acted upon instincts. Not only did he believe they had no emotions, he also believed they could not feel pain, and he summarily discarded any evidence to the contrary. His views were widely accepted at the time, and his influence can be felt all the way to the present (note the prevalence of experimentation on animals).

Since that time, innumerable people - scientists included - have attempted to find out what animals do experience. Of course, we now know they feel pain, but what kinds of emotions do they feel?

Happiness, anger, anxiety and fear are basic emotions and it's likely they feel those. What about remorse, guilt, sadness or love? Certainly many of my clients are positive their dogs feel "guilty" when they have done something wrong. This may well be; after all, guilt is a learned emotion.

Small children don't think there's anything wrong with drawing on the kitchen wall until a parent tells them it is. Subsequently, they'll feel guilty if and when they give into the temptation (after all, what is a blank wall for if not creating art?) If you think about it, guilt is actually a form of anxiety.

Anxiety

An anxious dog is likely to pant, lick his lips, pace or run around the house, shed a great deal, and, if left alone, become destructive. When you return to your destroyed home, your dog will look guilty. He may wiggle up to you with his body close to the floor, flatten his ears, and lick his lips.

Most aggression is actually anxiety based. Dogs who display aggression by barking and lunging are telling others to go away because they are afraid and anxious. Some aggression crosses the boundary from anxiety to fear to absolute terror.

Dogs that have experienced trauma in their early life can develop severe problems that they might never be able to get over. For instance, if a dog was struck by a broom when it was a puppy, it will be frightened of a broom in someone's hand. It will try to avoid or escape from the broom if possible, but if it comes too close, it may strike out.

Anger

Anger does occur in dogs, but it's not as common as anxiety or fear. Angry dogs often believe that their precious resources are being threatened, or that another dog has invaded their space. They'll stare straight at their opponent, and display their canines in a show of strength. If pushed, they may bite.

Sadness

Many an owner knows his or her dog feels sadness and grief. When a pet experiences loss, it may lose its appetite, become listless or search through the house endlessly. The loss could be another dog, a cat or a human. Most of the time, grief disappears after several days, but sometimes it can change a dog's personality permanently. Dogs also sometimes act sad when their guardian does. They'll become quieter, and often sit close to or touching their guardian.

Love

There is a vast store of anecdotal information about the love dogs have for their guardians. This love is unconditional - they require nothing from us except our presence.

Like the other emotions, there is little scientific proof that dogs "love" us - but then there is little scientific proof that we love each other! We have to take that on faith.

Happiness

Happy dogs need no description. They look, well, happy - wagging tails, open mouth, ears back - which, of course, is how we want our dogs to be as much of the time as possible.

Trish King is the director of behavior and training at the Marin Humane Society.

Tails of Marin appears every Saturday in the Home & Garden section of the Marin Independent Journal