This article was made possible by Kurzgesagt in a nutshell. 

The question of dog emotions has been debated for quite a long time. What emotions do they have, and do they even have emotions? 

The short answer is: Yes, dogs have emotions. Long answer: Well, it is more complicated than just that. 

Let us break the question down into three different questions. Are dogs conscious? Do dogs have emotions? Are they complex? 

But first, what is consciousness? What are feelings? And what are emotions? Consciousness is the state of being awake or aware of one’s surroundings. A feeling is an emotional state or reaction. Emotions are a natural instinctive state of mind deriving one’s circumstances, mood, or relationship with others. 

Kurzgesagt is a channel that answers questions that viewers ask involving science. One of Kurzgesagt’s videos called “The Origins of Consciousness” tells its viewers about consciousness and how it evolved until today. The video states, “Consciousness is the state of being aware of one’s surroundings. It probably started when living creatures had the urge to find more food.” This means that organisms that would move towards food when they sensed it would have a better chance of survival than organisms that moved randomly. This process took seven hundred million years to make consciousness into what it is today. 

In short summary, dogs have emotions, but not complex ones. They have the emotions of a human who is two and a half years old. They feel the emotions of love, fear, anger, joy, and arousal. 

I. First, do dogs even have emotions? In order to conclude that dogs have emotions, three assumptions must be fulfilled. But remember, these assumptions might need more evidence to prove so take the following as a grain of salt. 

1. It is alive -It must have some form of instincts and must contain a cell if it is not one. 
2. Dogs are conscious beings. A good way to evaluate this is if the creature can think. Cells are alive, but they all run on the chemical reactions around them. So although they are alive, they are not conscious. 
3. They have feelings. You can be alive and conscious like a bug, but as far as we know, they do not have feelings. Feelings, however, are different from emotions. 

Feelings are different from emotions because feelings are experienced consciously while emotions can be experienced consciously or subconsciously. People will know if they are feeling happy or sad, but they sometimes might not even really know what emotions they are actually feeling. 

To summarize, we need to find out if dogs even have emotions. Even this is something people cannot agree about. In the past, people used their beliefs and culture to answer this question. The article, “Which Emotions Do Dogs Actually Experience?” discusses how many people thought dogs had many diverse emotions, while the churches thought that animals were mindless machines. Then, technology and science came into play, saying that dogs had emotions. Now we know that dogs and many other animals are conscious and have emotions, just like humans! 

Another article called “Dogs can hear your emotions,” states that dogs also have feelings, as studies show that they respond to different emotions and feelings relating to different human sounds (like crying), and they experience feelings themselves (feeling sad and scared when we punish them). This topic is so broad and interesting that it probably deserves its own article which I will write sometime in the future. But, before we move on, make sure to remember that we are all alive and experience pain and pleasure, so do not go throwing stones at birds the next time you see them. 

So do dogs have emotions? Well, the answer is yes. 

1. While the church a long time ago said dogs were lifeless machines, I think we can all agree that dogs are alive. They run on instincts, yelp when they are hurt, and act on their own free will, like chasing a butterfly. In all, dogs are living creatures. 
2. Consciousness. Kurzgesagt made a video on this so watch his video for more information when you are done reading this article. In a nutshell, consciousness is a “state of being awake or aware of one’s surroundings.” A good way to test if something or someone is conscious is if they can actively think. Dogs think and plan all the time to look for food or anything else they might want to find. For example, they are aware of the butterfly they are chasing. So, dogs are conscious. 
3. We know that dogs have emotions because they respond to environmental stimuli. The environmental stimuli tests show that dogs experience different emotions. For example, when you give a piece of steak to a dog, the dog will swirl with happiness. Dogs have feelings. 

II. Next, dogs have emotions, but what kind of emotions do they have? Are they complex? According to Which Emotions Do Dogs have? “dogs have the emotions of a two and a half-year-old human.” Humans acquire more than half of the emotions they will ever have when they are around two years old. Dogs live shorter lives, so they would acquire these emotions quicker, but they will have fewer of them. This is similar to other animals like baby chickens. While chickens have emotions, they have more basic ones, and they get them earlier. But, they have a similar lifespan to dogs and both animals have simple emotions. If you want to learn more about chickens, go to Chicken Feelings – According to Science and Do Chickens Have Feelings, Emotions, and Sentience? 

Specifically, dogs have the emotions of arousal, excitement, joy, anger, fear, shyness, love, and other minor emotions similar to those of a chicken. Chickens feel happiness, sadness, fear, distress, anxiety, curiosity, and frustration. There are other emotions they might have, but it is still not clear enough about those. Dogs do not have guilt, shame, contempt, and pride. Sometimes, dogs might accidentally get this trait, and it may be passed on, while that is pretty rare. Also, smart and clever dogs might sometimes experience these emotions, too! 

Now that we are all done with the article, I think I can fit a little bit more about Kurzgesagt in a nutshell. In the video, “The Origins of Consciousness,” make sure to post a question you want to ask, maybe even about dog emotions!

In the comments below, put any questions you have. Also, I am trying to investigate whether the scientists are right or wrong. Is it possible that dogs have complex emotions? Type in the chat your opinion and maybe ask Kurzgesagt if he can make a video out of this. Farewell until 99 votes: whether you think dogs have more complex emotions than the scientists think or whether you agree with the scientists. Make sure to put your honest opinion and have your family and friends vote, too! Put your reasons why you voted for what you did. If you have a specific emotion that you think your dog was feeling, state why and what the situation was. 

DOG EMOTIONS VOTE COUNT:

Yes, dogs have complex emotions 🙂   |  No, dogs don’t have complex emotions 🙁  |   I’m neutral 😐

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TOTAL VOTES:

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Today is National Watermelon Day!! Be sure to eat lots of refreshing watermelon on this hot, summer day! By the way, the dogs will be having lots of watermelons today. 😉