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Do dogs feel complex emotions such as jealousy and love, or have many people misread their dog's body language?

I just want to know everyone's opinion on this. Please support your argument. (ie don't just say "Of course they do!")

Of course they feel, maybe not to much complex but they feel. We love them and they love us.
Greets to my dog, cat, parrot, fish, spider, ...

kovach wrote:Of course they feel, maybe not to much complex but they feel. We love them and they love us.
Greets to my dog, cat, parrot, fish, spider, ...

I don't consider "We love them and they love us" to be support for your argument.

I dont think you can apply a human created emotion and feeling to members of a different species; thus i voted no altough they might have a different feeling based on other circumstances that might be similar to our emotion called love.

I'd say there is affection at least, a dog will get a great kick out of you coming home, it will wag it's tail, jump, lick, bark etc., to it's owner, whereas it will be more wary of other people.

As for jealousy, I think it's just that the other dog wants to be scratched (or whatever) as well, and then acts in a way that we interpret as jealousy.

The dog is the human's best friend

Sure, most animals may exhibit some sort of emotions and feelings...
even revenge...

Yeah, dogs can love their masters or whoever. If a person shows a dog kindness, the dog will trust and grow to like that person, which is the same way love between humans works as well. Loyalty is part of love, and throughout the ages dogs have been symbols of loyalty. Dogs can also be protective of people they like, which shows they care for and want to keep those people safe. If it's relevant, I own one dog and one cat.

But couldn't this behavior we interpret as the dog loving us back all just be a part of survival? Dogs are pack animals, they depend on the pack for survival. I would imagine dogs think of their human owners as members of their pack.
I think that a dog wants to achieve/maintain status in our pack(because status = getting fed first, which = survival)

So when I give more attention to my cat, my dog will do things that look like "jealousy" to try to maintain his status. Now if I give my dog attention will my cat do these behaviors we associate with jealousy? No. No non-pack animal will exhibit these bahaviors.

FuRy wrote:The dog is the human's best friend

Your really consistent with your one-liner spam posts.

who post no??? Bastards!!! You have no soul..... the animals fell any of your emotion... hmmmmmm

Being a dog owner myself, I should say that, yes... they feel love, and maybe some other emotions. I may be misinterpreting their body language and reactions, but here are some examples of what I see:
- Whenever I am near them without moving (I.E. Lying down on the floor), and unresponsive to their biting/scratching, they just lay down beside me and sleep, sometimes licking my hands, ears or nose. Don't we humans do the same thing with loved ones? or am I just not normal?
- When they are apart, there is an incessant whining, and I guess that is because they miss each other.

I am not good with these subjective topics, but, if that is love, its good, and if it is not love, they are faking it very well , and it makes me feel good either way.

adilupu wrote: who post no??? Bastards!!! You have no soul..... the animals fell any of your emotion... hmmmmmm

I don't understand any of this.

slashfoo wrote:Being a dog owner myself, I should say that, yes... they feel love, and maybe some other emotions. I may be misinterpreting their body language and reactions, but here are some examples of what I see:
- Whenever I am near them without moving (I.E. Lying down on the floor), and unresponsive to their biting/scratching, they just lay down beside me and sleep, sometimes licking my hands, ears or nose. Don't we humans do the same thing with loved ones? or am I just not normal?
- When they are apart, there is an incessant whining, and I guess that is because they miss each other.

I am not good with these subjective topics, but, if that is love, its good, and if it is not love, they are faking it very well , and it makes me feel good either way.

Can you see a parallel between this and pack behavior?
Being separated from the group is not a good thing for a pack animal, and maybe that high-pitched whining is a survival "tool" to help find their group.

Yeah I see the parallel, but there is also something that I have read in dog books, and it is that it is not only other dogs in the house that are their 'pack' its every family member most of the time.

My mom, dad, sister and myself are also members of the pack, and they will whine if they do not see someone of said pack for long, and greet them in a way that seems joyful when they return. I don't know, and as I said, even if it is not love, I feel very good when they act this way.