Dogs Emotions - How To Understand And Deal With Them

Recent research seems to confirm what dog lovers have always known: dogs do experience secondary emotions like jealousy, embarrassment, guilt and empathy. Dr Friederike Range, at the University of Vienna's neurobiology department, has confirmed that dogs experience intense jealousy if they see that they are being unfairly treated compared to another dog. This subject is still controversial - at least one dog expert has stated that these scientists are misinterpreting the dogs' reactions in these studies.

Your Dog's Body Language

In order to understand your dog, you need to learn to read his body language, which is how he communicates with other dogs. If you don't learn this language, you could easily completely misunderstand your dog.

Your dog uses his mouth, ears, tail position and movement, head position and body posture (for example, whether crouched or not) to communicate with other dog and with you. As with people, the dog's mouth shape is very expressive. The normal position is relaxed, slightly open with the tongue slightly visible or draped over the lower teeth. This is the sign of a relaxed and content dog and is like the smile of a person.

When a dog becomes more alert and pays attention to something, the mouth closes. When a dog starts to show teeth you'd better know the meaning: if he is exposing teeth and gums and his skin is wrinkled above his nose, you are in imminent danger if you don't back off. However, never turn and run if you are confronted by a dog with this display: dogs are programmed to chase and may bite.

The shape of the open mouth changes depending upon whether the dog is experiencing anger or fear. In anger, you see mostly the front canines. In fear, you see more of the rear teeth.

Your Dog's Vocal Communication

Dogs also communicate vocally with barks, growls, whines and so on. For example, fast barking with a midrange pitch is the dog's basic alarm sound. It would be an alarm signal to the pack: Something's entering our territory!

You may think that a bark is just a bark, but it can have very different meanings depending upon the pitch and the speed. For example, if the barking is slower and the pitch is lower, it means that the danger entering his territory is more imminent. There can be a whole range of barks, growls, yelps, howls, whines, squeaks and whimpers.

Instincts and Needs of a Dog

To fully understand your dog and his emotions, you need to understand the instincts of the pack. The pack is territorial, for example, and is highly protective of its territory. Dogs have hunting instincts.

To keep an emotionally well-balanced dog, you need to understand the communication of your dog and also what his needs are. If he doesn't get enough exercise, for example, he may become depressed.