My Friendly Pets

We, as people often wonder if our dogs feel emotions. Can they feel the same things that we identify as happiness, sadness, lonliness, fear or aggression? According to veterinarians, dogs express their emotions through their body language.

For example, if your dog is happy, his/her ears are up and forward. The eyes are usually wide open and the mouth is relaxed and slightly open with the teeth covered, thereby indicating no threat. A happy dog will come to sniff you and if it is a dog you don’t well, let it sniff your wrist. If you know the dog well and identify the dog by his/her name, you will note a wag of the tail, for this shows the dogs excitement as well as happiness. C’mon, most of us have a dog or know one that smiles for us.

When a dog is sad, it is usually identified as submissive and does not take a dominant stance. Their body language will show a dog with ears back, tail hanging low, maybe one paw raised and the mouth relaxed with the tip of the tounge hanging out. However, if any of you have ever seen a sad dog, it is usually seen in the soulfulness of their eyes. They may look up at you and their eyes look deep as pools and it appears that the weight of the world is on their shoulders. Sad dogs don’t cry in the same way that we identify with tears and sadness, but a dog’s whine is a clear indication of their sadness. Often when a dog is left alone it will whine as a pack mechanism to indicate a necessary rescue. However, many of our family dogs get into a whining habit, when they want attention, food, water, play, etc.

If a dog is playful and in a fun loving mood, it will not be difficult to see. This is the dog with their front end lowered, like they are going to leap forward. Their mouth is usually open and relaxed with the tounge out front or hanging slightly to the side. There is usually a playfulness in the eyes of the dog, easy to see and even easier to love.

I think that dogs feel many emotions. Fear, joy, happiness and especially love for those in the dog’s pack who love that dog, no matter what!!!

We have integrated dogs in so much of our lives. Go back and take a look at some of the quotes that make dogs more real to us, each and every day!!!