You look into your dog’s childlike eyes, and wonder if he can sense that you hate him, if only for a moment. Does he know? And how will it affect your relationship?
It may come as a surprise, but most experts agree that he can, indeed, tell that you don’t like him.
Dogs are pack animals, and as such, have developed a sophisticated sense of social relationships. Their long history with us has extended this ability beyond simply their own kind.
They can easily pick up on human emotional cues, and if they are not wanted , they can certainly tell.
Akiko Takaoka of Kyoto University has stated that pups have a much more sophisticated intelligence than previously thought. And, it would seem, a much more sophisticated emotional life, as well.
Studies have shown that while they will spontaneously trust humans, this trust is quickly eroded if a human proves himself or herself unworthy of it. They will experience jealousy as well if a person pays attention to something other than themselves.
Many believe that these feelings are not truly emotions, but studies seem to indicate otherwise.
After all, why would it be so hard to believe that animals, especially our canine buddies, who have lived beside us for many centuries, are incapable of higher emotions, and are capable of expressing them?
When you get right down to it , we, ourselves, are animals, and we have our more primitive animal ancestors to thank for our rich emotional lives.
How would we react if we were to believe that our primary caregiver, the person we look to for both physical and emotional sustenance, our authority figure, the leader of our pack, so to speak, hated us?
It could result in acting out. Your pal may show signs of aggression and/or depression, leading to withdrawal from the family or even dangerous situations with younger children.
