Do you think dogs/pets feel the emotion "jealousy"?
This question makes for good debate, and these are my opinions on the matter based on my experience. From my experience in raising dogs/animals/pets, what have you, I have never really termed their behaviors as emotions. Though I have gone through many emotions myself while trying to asess and correct the animal with certain behaviors, I believe that the animal really doesnt feels emotions nor does he have any psychological or physical control over himself when certain situations arise. Like the lose of their constant companion. I dont think the dog "feels sad, depressed, heart broken over the loss", but is evident that there is an effect on the dog with its suppressed energy. I do believe there is some level of frustration that dogs experiences which reveals itself through anxiety, frustrations, or suppressed energy which the animal displays in so many different behaviors, we may not really recognize the cue the animal is sending us. The obsessive behaviors in animals, such as always wanting to be close to you, rubbed or pet, destroying furniture or toys, or a continueous bark, just some examples, these behaviors are a form of addiction, which actually blinds them and robs them from achieveing happiness, having fun or just being relaxed, you know, like a normal or balanced dog........ (By the way, what is normal and balanced?) Just as a human might have an addiction to alcohol because they desire to achieve a certain outcome with the effects, its the same with the animals and their obsessive behaviors, there is a certain effect they want to achieve. I have found by giving my dogs the proper amount of exercise everyday, releasing all that pent up energy inside of them, I am better able to enforce the limits of what behavior are and are not acceptable. The animals need to know that there are limits, and the limits are set by you. They need to be submissive.
I have one dog that use to experience separation anxiety everytime I would leave a room and even worse, when I would leave the property for any length of time. When I would returned, she began to realize, that if she continuously barked, wagged her tail, and become super hyped out, I would come and give her the attention that she craved, and she was right because she was now setting the limits for herself. She would eventually settle down, but the more I let her slide with her behaviors, the more dangerous it became for her. She then began gnawing on herself leaving big wounds on her legs, and the previous behaviors that she was displaying were intensifying and for longer durations at a time. I changed my approach. I had to set the limits as to what behavior was acceptable to me and for her. I began by not make eye contact with her, nor would I acknowledge the behavior. Eventually, she learned that she was not achieving the desired affects and became more submissive over time, and stopped displaying those behaviors. Today, I can walk into the house, pull up on the property and she will sit there patiently waiting for the attention, shows excitement to see me but she no longer experiences the separation axieties. The gnawing behavior has not resurfaced in over a year. What I have learned, it that dogs do wants limits, they want consistancy in their structure and to be submissive and pleasing to their master.
Silkies can swear.
