Do you believe in anthropomorphism, or do you think your dogs show real emotions like sadness and joy?
Thanks :D

Well am sure my Goldie was depressed when in kennels many moons ago, so i would say yes :)

IMO dogs experience emotions but whether they are experiencing them in the same way as humans is difficult to say.  Aggression causes physical changes in response to fight or flight which is basically the same for animals as humans.  However, humans also show signs of aggression in response to complex social behaviours that are not threatening i.e. humiliation which could be said to be due to our higher order thinking.

Depression that liberty mentioned is one which could actually be tested physically because of the chemical changes in the brain.  IMO I think that she is right and dogs do experience depression.

Dogs have been seen to grieve for companions, show joy etc. 

I like to think so.

Yes to both.

The two are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

You cannot stop people being anthropomorphic after all, that is a fact, it happens, it is not a matter of faith........

I don't believe in anthropomorphism where a dog is treated like and expected to behave like a human. I've no doubt at all that dogs do think and work things out, but I don't believe they think in the same way we do. Apart from anything else the sensory input they get is so different. I do think they usually understand us a great deal better than we understand them. One of the things that fascinates me is the differece in intelligence (not just trainability) between dogs even from the same litter. I've had bitch and dog from the same litter where the bitch was extremely clever (and very manipulative) but the dog was definitely dim, though very loveable.

I do believe that dogs have genuine emotions, though I'm not sure that they experience them in the same way or for the same reasons we do.

I am sure that dogs and cats have similar emotions to humans. A while ago I had a brother and sister cat. Sadly the boy dide and his sister spent days looking for him and then started to put on loads of weight, which had not been a problem before. Even the vet suggested that she was depressed and missing her brother.

Also one of my dogs has what I would call a smile, when he is happy and relaxed if I smile at him he pulls his lips back a little to show his teeth. This would normally be threatening to a dog but Im sure that he has worked out that humans use it differently.

It might just be my interpretations but I think my dog definitely smiles when he's having a good time - be it a long walk or finding a box of bonios in the shopping!

And when he's in the dog house and gets sent to his bed he seems totally fed up and makes all those "humphing" noises until he's allowed out.  And he definitely knows when I'm upset as he never leaves my side.

CG

Dogs (as do all mammals) share many of the same simple emotions as we do like happiness, sadness, desire, grief etc... and are perceptive enough to recognise a human experiencing the same emotions. But when we start getting into abstract territory, they don't work on the same wavelength or to the same agenda as an adult human... they probably have their own totally different 'inner world' as their senses are very different to ours, but as they can't talk to tell us about it we can't know what it's like.

Dogs are much better at understanding humans than vice versa! We tend to project our feelings on dogs and misinterpret their behaviour. The classic one is thinking a dog feels guilty when it's done something wrong - the dog is actually anticipating getting told off by it's owner and tries to appease them how it would a more dominat pack member. Often the poor dog has forgotten all about the particular transgression unless it has just happened - that's why it's pointless punishing a dog for messing in the house when you are out. For the record I'm pretty sure that dogs don't have any concept of guilt.

I always work on dogs having the same amount of emotional complexity as a toddler or slightly older child depending on the dog (like humans, some dogs are more intelligent, more perceptive or better communicators than others). But at the end of the day I respect them as a dog and don't expect them to behave like a human.

I think they show sadness, happiness ect.... I know when Cuervo passed away Taz howled and whined lots took him awhile to get over it.... Funny even if we mention her name now his ears purk up and he looks around so I am sure he still misses her alot.... Hopefully when he passes on she is there to meet him which will make it easier for Taz cause I know he'll be happy.