What are Dogs Thinking Inside their Brains?
Researchers believe that dogs have their own moral system.
What are dogs truly thinking, you know when they give you that sympathetic look when they do something bad? Well let’s find out!
“Guilty” Look
According to experiments, when your dog gives you that “guilty” look, they don’t actually feel guilty. Because researchers believe that they have their own moral system. This doesn’t mean your dog doesn’t know right from wrong. It simply means that they just don’t fully comprehend what we’re trying to say to them. In other words, they have different meaning for what’s right and wrong. When we say “no” or “bad” they absorb our terminology in a different way.
Researchers believe that when dogs are accused of doing something they were told not to do, even if they didn’t do it – they give you the “guilty” look. Because it’s just the way they react to when their being yelled at by their owners.
Understanding of Fairness and Equality
In the last decade, cases have proved that dogs may in fact have their own moral sense and feel empathy similar to us as humans. Studies have shown signs that dogs apparently, internally have the instinct of when their being “wronged” or in other words, taken advantage of.
One dog was brought into a room and asked by an expert for her to give him a “paw”. The expert repeats this process 30 times. Then brings another dog into the room and conducts the experiment with both dogs. Though the second dog gets rewarded with a treat. Meanwhile the first dog is given nothing in return for its paw. The first dog cooperates at first alongside the other dog but after a while when it isn’t rewarded like the second dog, it begins to whimper.
The expert believes the dog began whimpering beacuse the fact that it felt it wasn’t being treated fairly. Could dogs share the same moral believe of fairness as we do? After conducting various experiments with dogs, experts have come to the conclusion that dogs have somewhat of an understanding of fairness. If two dogs do the same test and one is given a reward, the other one should be treated equally.
In conclusion dogs believe that if they should be treated fairly, similar to the way our minds work as humans. Dogs might not understand “right” from “wrong” or “yes” and “no” to its full capacity but they have a partial sense of fairness and equality.
Feeling Emotions
Do dogs have or express emotions? When your dog wags its tail back and forth rapidly with a happy grin on its face? If you have a dog your answer is probably “yes”. At least you assume the answer is yes from actions you have experienced with your dog. You may think that reading dogs emotions is a piece of cake. Science shows that there is a deeper, desire explanation behind your pooch’s actions.
Research in the past while has suggested that dogs have the brain structure as us in order to have emotions. Canines share the same hormones and experience alike chemical changes when going through an emotional state. Dogs have a hormone called “oxytocin”, in humans this hormone is associated with the feeling of love and affection.
Emotions and Reactions
Overall, dogs have matching neurology chemistry as do humans proving that dogs could have the same or similar emotions as we do – love, anger, nervous, scared, suspicion, excitement. Following this our furry friends have a bundle of reactions built up inside their fuzzy bodies.
For example, when you’re out walking your beloved boy and you trail by another dog whom your dog is not pleased at the presence of, making bold eye contact with the other dog and growls fiercely at it. This is an example of your canines reactions, if it doesn’t like another dog or senses danger, it instinctively goes on high alert.
Dogs share many reactions with us. They act like body guards when we’re out with them or when we’re at home. They guard our home and bark up a storm when they spy a car outside or a person walk by. As humans we view this as our dogs being annoying mutts who won’t shut up and let us enjoy peaceful silence. But it’s really our dogs doing their job that’s part of their mindset.
Another reaction of our dog’s minds is when we come home from being out at work, school or the gym and they get up on two legs, placing their front paws on us and licking our faces till they’ve successfully covered us in doggy slobber. Trust me we’ve been all been there and can relate. Our tail wagging hounds see this as greeting us and having part of their “pack” back in their realm of safety, and their doggy slobber? Well that’s a lovely gift from our mongrel’s.
Learning from Us
In addition, do dogs learn terms, skills and habits like us? For starters, dogs don’t wear pants (at least they usually don’t in this sense) so us as owners have to train them like teaching a toddler potty training, to them. Especially when their just pups, being brought to a new home is exciting- new scents! Although it can also be nerve-wracking to the little fur balls. Which is why puppies pee in the house, their excited and scared, not knowing the knowledge of right and wrong, the take a wee on your new white carpet.
Dogs just like toddlers have to be taught by their owners/ parents where the correct place to go to the bathroom is and have to be trained on how to appropriately behave themselves in various situations as well as surroundings.
Dogs pick up on their owners signs and actions. They might not have a full grip on the terms but they get the general idea. After a while they begin to obey their owners orders and requests. Dogs may comprehend commands in a different way than us but with time they will become more alike us and with science we can learn about our furry friends.
VIDEO: What are Animals Thinking?
Wikipedia – Dog Intelligence