# do dogs have feelings?

Category: Animal House

## Post 1 by Gilman Gal (A billy Gilman fan forever and always!!) on Sunday, 20-May-2007 6:52:01

do dogs have feelings? I honestly think they do! some people will say that they do not, but I think they do! so what are your opinions?

## Post 2 by Gilman Gal (A billy Gilman fan forever and always!!) on Sunday, 20-May-2007 6:52:50

oh yeah. if this is on the wrong board, sorry.

## Post 3 by Lupinsgirl (I can't call it a day til I enter the zone BBS) on Monday, 21-May-2007 11:34:08

Of corse dogs have feelings. What do you think it is when a dog waggs his tail at you when you get home or when he krys to come in side when you put him out to do his bizness. Or what do you think it is when he is so happy to see you getting his dinner that he runs and jumps for joy? That is dog feelings.

## Post 4 by purple michelle (Newborn Zoner) on Monday, 21-May-2007 14:23:39

I believe they do, they have facial impressions for when their sulking or smiling. and of course all the things the other person said.

## Post 5 by Rune Knight (Ancient Demon - Darkness will always conquer Light!) on Monday, 21-May-2007 15:38:46

Yes, dogs as well as any other animals have feelings.

## Post 6 by purple penguin (Don't you hate it when someone answers their own questions? I do.) on Monday, 21-May-2007 15:46:40

If they are living and breathing then they have feelings. My dog gets major separation inxiety disorder whenever we leave him.

## Post 7 by Big Pawed Bear (letting his paws be his guide.) on Monday, 21-May-2007 16:36:22

of course they have feelings. dogs are one of the most expressive creatures on the planet.

## Post 8 by redgirl34 (Scottish) on Tuesday, 22-May-2007 15:23:03

Yes dogs have feelings. My dog used to bark the place down if you left him.

## Post 9 by turricane (happiness and change are choices ) on Tuesday, 22-May-2007 18:36:17

some folk say that all the waggging and barkikng and smiling are instincts which come from the past. i say fooey on that. dogs also go to heaven. i don't care what people say about that one either. also, dogs cry. when ours came to us from the pound, while she was napping she'd cry.

## Post 10 by Liz (The Original) on Tuesday, 22-May-2007 23:46:28

Some people say animals do have feelings while others say they don't, claiming that they're merely just God's machines. Personally, I believe that dogs and any animal for that matter does have feelings.

## Post 11 by dream lady (move over school!) on Wednesday, 23-May-2007 1:16:30

Well, I definitely think so. When my dog gets mad at me, she won't have a thing to do with me.

## Post 12 by motifated (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Wednesday, 23-May-2007 5:56:57

I believe al living things have feelings. We almost adopted a dog once. We saw him two or three times, and we observed his becoming more comfortable with his surroundings in the pound. When we adopted the cat we have now, I noticed his feelings of fear giving way to resignation, and then to comfort with us. No doubt in my mind that all living things have feelings.
Lou

## Post 13 by speedie (move over school!) on Wednesday, 23-May-2007 9:17:24

I've a Rottie friend Bruce, who's 8 stone of good humour, mischief, and a cracking love of people. I know a collie who goes in the huff when he's rumbled acting up, he's so pissed off at this, it's almost human.
Stevie.

## Post 14 by guitargod1 (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Wednesday, 23-May-2007 12:42:16

I believe that dogs definetly do have feelings.

## Post 15 by Lupinsgirl (I can't call it a day til I enter the zone BBS) on Friday, 25-May-2007 11:27:26

Dogs are one of the most wunderful speshes on the planit and they are vary sepshel otherwize if you spell dog backwords you will get god? I don't think that was an axadent or a fluke.

## Post 16 by bozmagic (The rottie's your best friend if you want him/her to be, lol.) on Friday, 25-May-2007 15:46:34

Yeah, I believe dogs deffinitely have feelings. My Grandparents, dog at the moment, probably feels a bit jealous when either mum, Gran or Grandad is holding the baby, 8-week-old Robbie. She'll give you that pleading look as if to say, "hey, its my turn now" and tap you on the hand or knee with her paw, though once, she hit Robbie's head instead of Gran's arm because she was holding Robbie at the time, but no harm was done. We don't think she would intentionally hurt Robbie though. His older sister was 14 months when my Grandparents first got Purdie though, so she's probably not used to this new little person getting more attention than her these days. She's awfully fond of mum, Tegen and Gran though, so providing they're not holding the baby, she's all right, but back on topic, I'd say all the dogs I've met, certaily have feelings. Purdie also has all the facial expressions to go with those feelings, lollollollollol.

## Post 17 by Reyami (I've broken five thousand! any more awards going?) on Friday, 25-May-2007 20:23:52

Yes, dogs have feelings.

## Post 18 by Gilman Gal (A billy Gilman fan forever and always!!) on Tuesday, 29-May-2007 21:13:46

I'm glad you guys agree with me!

## Post 19 by Daenerys Targaryen (Enjoying Life) on Monday, 24-Nov-2008 20:10:09

Yes, of course dogs and any other animals have feelings.

## Post 20 by laced-unlaced (Account disabled) on Friday, 26-Feb-2010 6:30:08

hey.
i am sorry for taking this topic back to the top again.
i never used to think that dogs have feelings, but mine certainly does. all the wining and the unhappy face... awwww
poor animal

## Post 21 by DevilishAnthony (Just go on and agree with me. You know you want to.) on Tuesday, 16-Mar-2010 3:40:29

All the dogs that I've had over the years demonstrated that they had feelings. My guidedog was fine if I left her alone or with someone else, but if I went in to another room and she couldn't follow me, if she heard me, but could not see me, she would get quite upset. When I was 5 years old, and my parrents divorced, my dad took the dog. He moved out in to the country, about 15 miles away. That dog would jump the fence and run back home to us in the middle of the night at least once a week. When we would find him in the morning, he'd jump all over us and bark and whimper with happiness.

## Post 22 by margorp (I've got the gold prolific poster award, now is there a gold cup for me?) on Tuesday, 16-Mar-2010 15:18:55

Dogs can feel happiness, sadness, fear, and even shame! So you bet they have feelings.

## Post 23 by LeoGuardian (You mean there is something outside of this room with my computer in it?) on Tuesday, 16-Mar-2010 17:47:31

I have no doubt that dogs, rats, insects, perhaps even mollusks, have all the feelings that relate to self.
By that I mean happiness, sadness, pain, pleasure, fear, etc. At least as much as each species has the firmware for it.
Where it breaks down for me, is the acknowledgement that animals have any higher functions like altruism, delayed gratification, or even guilt / shame.
I have certainly seen dogs wag the tail, enjoy a bowl of food or a scratch on the head. Certainly all my birds had preferences of food or toys, these all being feelings and the capacity to distinguish similar items.
But as to where it breaks down:
To demonstrate a dog really has altruistic capacity, would be that when two others were mauling a six-year-old in the yard (real situation out here), a third would come along and do what it could to break up the fight, not join in.
Rather, you would see the third join in, much like Jack and his tribe from Lord of the Flies. The only difference is if the dog belonged to the girl. Then the dog has motive for breaking up the fight.
But you would never see all the dogs in the neighborhood getting together to stop a particularly cruel or vicious dog. Either they would cower and stay away, or their pack instinct would cause them to join in.
As to a discussion if animals feel? That is quite nineteenth-century: certainly they feel, and that more than physical. Can they remember things? Well, memory is pretty important for survival, so I assume so.
However, what would happen if the following scenario took place:
You get home from work, only to find out your daughter almost drowned in the swimming pool, but the dog rescued her. Now that can be seen as either a noble effort, or it responding as a pack member, but no matter.
You, in your grattitude, take the dog out to the pool, show it the pool and your daughter, then praise it, give it perhaps the biggest award you can find that would mean something to it.
Can a dog draw the connection? Does the dog know, not just that you are happy, but that its very actions are what caused it? These are the sorts of questions that come to mind for me when people talk about how wonderful animals are.
And, if we ever find out it's true, and we find a dog has needlessly mauled someone, is it no longer an animal acting on instinct, but because we know they have this capacity, are they now responsible for a hate crime? In other words, they, like anyone else, couldn't be expected to get the rights without the responsibilities.
Just my thoughts

## Post 24 by turricane (happiness and change are choices ) on Wednesday, 17-Mar-2010 10:21:23

dogs can'tremember much in the past. if you catch a dog in the act you can discipline it for doing something wrong. if you find the after effects, there is not point. they know you are mad and react to that but really can't place the cause with the effect. does that make sense?
Dogs can remember people for ever. my pup that we had to give away is now six months old. a month aftershe went to live with my friend, i saw her and she remembered me. that's a long time for someone who hasn't been around that long.

## Post 25 by margorp (I've got the gold prolific poster award, now is there a gold cup for me?) on Wednesday, 17-Mar-2010 12:39:25

But dogs have intelligence...my dad had this German Sheopard...well now his friend has her. She not only knows who I am but she knows several commands and when you talk to her she looks you right in the eye as if she understands. Also, I was walking her one day and she stopped at the cross walk and she is not trained to do so.

## Post 26 by CrystalSapphire (Uzuri uongo ndani) on Thursday, 25-Mar-2010 10:28:39

Yes, dogs have feelings.

## Post 27 by Songbird83 (the Zone BBS remains forever my home page) on Wednesday, 31-Mar-2010 20:58:39

Oh yes, dogs have feelings. When I had my retired dog with me, when I'd tell him what a good boy he was when we were working, he'd wag his tale and he was so happy, and somehow I just knew he was. And whenever I was sad, he wanted to be with me to comfort me. That's a feeling to, to want to comfort someone. And now that I have a new dog, when I go to visit my parents and he sees me he is so happy, but when I leave, he cries and I feel so bad because he wants to be with me. When I got this dog I have now, I knew she was really scared because she cried and cried because she was in an unfamiliar place, and didn't know me or where she was, and sometimes when kids are in unfamiliar places, they cry to. And there was some tention between us for a while, and I honestly don't know how long it took her to love me, but I know she does since she's with me a lot. I think whoever says that dogs don't have feelings, are wrong, no afence.

## Post 28 by OceanDream (An Ocean of Thoughts) on Wednesday, 19-May-2010 10:55:06

They say that with kids, if you give them love and affection, it'll help them grow up to be healthier, both physically and emotionally. Do you think that's true for animals as well? Personally, I think it is.

## Post 29 by BryanP22 (Novice theriminist) on Friday, 02-Jul-2010 21:02:48

Oh absolutely. A case in point was Gretta, the Cocker Spaniel my folks adopted when I was about twelve or so. We got her from one of my folks' coworkers, wo in turn had rescued her from a doctor who was very abusive towards her. The reason that didn't work out was that he had his own Cocker, Jacob, and at the time neither of them were fixed. I don't remember if Jacob ended up getting Gretta pregnant, but I do recall that the two of them played a bit too exuberantly and they trashed is house. So he basically bullied my mom, albeit gently, into taking her. He told her that he was going to keep asking until she agreed. I don't think it took very long.
But anyway when we first adopted her, Gretta was extremely quiet and timid and in fact would shiver like crazy when you approached if she didn't outright run. And heaven forbid you picked up a newspaper or magazine and riffled the pages. Aparently her first owner had a tendency to hit her with rolled up magazines, so Gretta associated that sound with a beating. So when you approached her, even if you got down on the floor (although that would cut down on the chances of her running), she would cringe away and shiver and cry. Fortunately she was only a year or so old when we got her or we might not have been able to do anything for her. But I don't seem to recall it taking too long for her true personality to start showing once she was living with us. She was extremely protective of us, particularly if she was sleeping with one of us. She used to sleep with my sister when she was younger and when my mom would come into Nikki's room to wake her up for school, Gretta would growl at her a little bit as if to say leave us alone. But once she was away from the abuse she became a very friendly, affectionate and loving animal who was always eager to cuddle up to you or go outside for some playtime. We nicknamed her Adventure Dog because she loved to go caping or hiking with us. We had her for almost fifteen years, which for a Cocker Spaniel is pretty damn good from what I've learned. It was shortly before my 26th birthday that we finally had her put to sleep.

## Post 30 by Big Pawed Bear (letting his paws be his guide.) on Saturday, 03-Jul-2010 9:44:31

i know horses have feelings, and as horses and dogs get on, i will continue with this post. a horse who i knew fairly well had colic, and she was staggering about drunkinly as some horses do when this aflicts them. i went in with this horse and she was drunkenly staggering about. collapsing, she adopted the posture of the suffering horse, all stretched out with head extended, not natural. her breathing was all out of kilter, which set alarm bells rining, so i went for help. sure enough, the vet was thrwoing parafin down the horse's neck within the hour. A week later, this mare was much recovered, and i went in to the stable to see her. she was not the physically affectionate type, not given to rubbing her head against your chest or resting her head on your shoulder to show her feelings, but this time she did. maybe she was thanking me for helping her that day? i don't know, but i like to think so.

## Post 31 by cattleya (Help me, I'm stuck to my chair!) on Saturday, 03-Jul-2010 18:28:56

I personally believe that dogs remember to a degree, and that they definitely have feelings. We just got home and caught one of our boxers dragging out garbage. She got in trouble and we went in the house. Soon as I was out of sight she went for it again. I walked out and she took off. I walked back in and she went again, and when I went back out again she ran as soon as she heard me. My husband walked out the door behind me, and the only thing he saw was her ass end disappearing around the house. She knew she was doing bad after getting in trouble the first time, but the garbage was so interesting she was not going to leave it alone. And, I say she knew because she has never ran from me until she got in trouble over the garbage today...And, no, we don't believe in harsh punishments...

## Post 32 by squidwardqtentacles (I just keep on posting!) on Sunday, 04-Jul-2010 13:48:31

I think dogs are smarter than some give them credit. I took public transportation my first year here, to my day job at the V A. A little beagle sat indifferently with his owner, seeming to be napping. One way there are 4 green line trains, letters 'B' thru 'E'. 'E' was mine. The dog indifferently napped until the 'C' train pulled up. At that point the dog was wide awake and yanking his owner into that Cleveland Circle train.

## Post 33 by Twighlight Fan (Account disabled) on Friday, 09-Jul-2010 5:46:49

Sure! Dogs have feelings just like people.

## Post 34 by BryanP22 (Novice theriminist) on Friday, 09-Jul-2010 14:55:02

Definitely. Our Cocker Spaniel was an excellent case in point. She went from being a timid, fearful creature, which was thanks to a doctor or something that I'd still like to beat with a stick for what he did to her, to a loving, affectionate and adventurous animal who went with us on a lot of our hiking and fishing trips and would go swimming every chance she got.

## Post 35 by Twighlight Fan (Account disabled) on Friday, 09-Jul-2010 15:02:23

Our Pit Bull is always so happy when I come home from school or from somewhere.