What Does science have to say?

You really love animals. They are part of your family. And you believe they feel the same way you do. Right? Would it surprise you to know that studies have shown most animals (and the rest of this article will speak to pets) have the emotional age of a two-year-old child?

Years ago, when Darwin was formulating his theory of evolution, he stated “Species beyond humans have rich emotional lives”. Stanley Coren PhD found that dogs have the same brain structures as humans.

Kristin Valentini studied the brain scans of dogs and determined that their brains show increased activity in the areas of the brain that light up for people when presented with a similar situation. Valentini further determined that dogs and people have the same emotional producing hormones including dopamine, cortisol and oxytocin. The biggest difference is that pets cannot feel more complex emotions, such as guilt, as they require an added thought process. So, when my dog snatches a sock out of the laundry to chew on and I catch her, she may look guilty but what she actually feels is fear at my displeasure.

There are several basic emotions pets are believed to feel: anger, disgust, excitement, fear, grief, joy, love, sadness and stress. Some opinions differ but studies have confirmed this list is quite accurate. Zoe Muller studied consistent grief patterns in giraffes and other species such as elephants, dogs, cats. apes and even killer whales have shown the same behavior after the loss of an infant or tribe member.

One of the first experiments to determine animal emotions was a test regarding learned helplessness, as concluded by Overmeier and Seligman in 1967. This is a condition whereby an animal is unable to control an unpleasant stimulus tied to a reward. Eventually, the animal stops trying to get the reward, even when the stimulus becomes controllable and easily produces a reward. This puts the animal in a state that is akin to a deep depression. It is likewise what occurs when an animal is consistently punished and then randomly rewarded for the same behaviors.

Animals have relatively limited means to communicate their emotions as compared to humans due to the lack of verbal skills. However, don’t tell this to ‘Bunny’, the famous sheepadoodle owned by Alexis Devine who currently knows 92 words and uses soundboard buttons to ‘talk’ with. You can find her on TikTok with over 8 million followers. Bunny is also part of a University of California; San Diego They Can Talk study.

Our pets usually stick to subtler cues like facial expressions, body language and some vocalizations. Your cat will wind around your legs in a figure-eight to show she loves (and owns) you. Dogs will stare intently into your eyes or sleep with their backs to you showing a high level of trust. Horses will firmly blow air out of their nostrils when near you to show love and will also do this to other horses for the same purpose.

So, the evidence is there. Animals do have a variety of emotions. Of course, one of the easiest ways to know what your pet is trying to say is to book a session with an animal communicator like me.