Though a fully understood conversation with our furry friends isn’t on the cards anytime soon, much advancement has been made in the fields of psychology and mental evaluation of dogs. So in this exciting piece, we’ll be sharing a number of interesting facts about the psychology of dogs – what prompts their actions, what certain gestures mean, and their natural inclinations. Look closely and you are sure to learn something new no matter if you are a canine lover or not. Here are some interesting facts about dogs set to thrill everyone.
I’m jealous
One of the conventionally accepted realities of dog psychology is their ability to feel and express emotion. Most people will agree that dogs can express and experience joy, sadness, and even fear. The concession, however, dulls a bit when concepts like jealousy are placed in focus. Are dogs capable of feeling jealous? This would mean that they are capable of desiring attention or companionship from their owners.
Recent studies have revealed that dogs do show signs of experiencing jealousy. And though they do not exactly feel it the way humans do, they feel it all the same. In a research where dogs were made to perform the exact commands but only one of the two pups got rewarded, the unrewarded dog showed signs of agitation, restlessness, higher tendency to scratch, and even avoided contact with a rewarded dog. These expressions were attributed to the feeling of jealousy.
A key conclusion of the research was that dogs don’t really care what they’re given as long as both pups get something. Even if one dog got a steak and the others got a collarbone they were both satisfied. So from we can confidently deduce that dogs just want to be treated fairly more than anything.
Dogs & guilt
Every dog owner has had that one time where he or she returned to a messy home and their dog (who was left at home alone) welcomes them with the classic puppy dog eyes. This is their signature cute, sad eye expression that they dole out effortlessly when they know that they have done something wrong.
In such common scenarios, we often peg those looks to be guilt, a certain feeling of sadness and regret over their actions. But is it?
Technically, that is not exactly what’s going on. Experts think that a dog is likely to react negatively with expressions of sadness when they see looks of anger, disappointment or even sense the negative emotions their owners are feeling. It is, therefore, a plausible conclusion that dogs gather that there’s going to be bad consequences as a result of their actions and therefore become sad and fearful. However, it is worth to note that dogs aren’t sad because they are remorseful for their actions. Actually, they’re just sad that you’re mad at them.
Mr. Smart Paws
If you have been or are a dog owner then you probably already know how smart and emotionally intelligent dogs can be. Of course, your average dog can’t resolve math problems and don’t have an opinion on the Trump administration. But they are quite intuitive, fast learners and can’t be easily fooled.
So, to estimate just how smart dogs are, a few researchers have gone to great lengths to estimate the intelligence of dogs and have come up with some impressive findings. Their results showed that dogs about as smart as a 2-year-old toddler. Dogs can count, they have the capacity to understand English, their vocabulary resource doesn’t exceed 150 words. On top of that, they can also manage difficult situations by figuring out how to resolve them, and dogs can even trick and amuse people. Which means that they can do way more than other domestic animals.
The Listening Dog
Though their vocal capacities will never be refined to that of a young child, nonetheless, research shows that dogs can comprehend a vast range of vocal tones. A good example is when we speak their name. Dogs are able to understand that they are being called when they hear their name. However, the tone of voice you use when calling their name will be the most important factor that the pup will take into account when deciding how to react to you calling them.
Dogs feel happy, playful and altogether bubbly when they hear happy intonation. Yet when they hear sad intonation or one that is tinged with anger, they will likely automatically appear sad or frightened. Additionally, your furry companion will run to your defense if they sense fear in your voice, and will do this every time they feel that you’re threatened in any way. And when they sense pain in your voice, they will display empathy and lingering concern.
I have a dream
Did you know that you’re not the only one who drifts off to wonderland when you sleep? Your dog does too, and with style. Have you observed your dog twitching while asleep? At that moment, they’re likely dreaming.
That whether dogs and animals, in general, have the capacity to dream has been a common topic among pet owners for years now. And luckily science finally has confirmed that dogs do, indeed, dream.
As a result of the unified deductions drawn from several kinds of research carried out on many different dogs, we now know that pets can dream. This is also supported by the observed fact that dogs do possess both sleep patterns and brain activity that is similar to humans.
But researchers went a step further and now suggest that dogs dream as much as a normal human being would. And that most of their dreams are in fact happy dreams with them engaging in games or some other fun activity. In their papers, these scientists have concluded that smaller breeds experience dreams more frequently than larger ones. As well as that in their dreams dogs mostly revisit previously known places or friends.
