Doggable: Dog Behavior Jealous Dogs

 Pet Care – Dogs can feel jealous just as people do

 Studies have shown that dogs behavior is very much a part of  their emotional state and that pet dogs do indeed have emotions of love, and jealousy. If you have more than one dog, just try to pet one, and the other will come running over to make sure not to be left out. Prior to these recent studies, scientists thought only primates and humans could be jealous because jealousy is a complex behavioral emotion.  It takes a level of intelligence to have complex emotions, and it was thought dogs did not have this capability. Recently a two different animal researchers proved that dogs display jealous reactions and behaviors in many situations. The study involved 1,000 pet dogs and their owners. 80% of the pet owners answered repeatedly that their dogs showed jealous behavior, As an example, dogs would often nuzzle in between the couple to make sure the dog got affection. It was an intentional act on the part of the dog to get their owners away from the new partner in the beginning of the relationship, creating a love triangle between the couple and the dog.  

In the world of emotions, there are primary and secondary emotions, and it was thought that pet dogs only had primary emotions like, love, anxiousness, and anger, in addition to surprise. In order to process the feelings of secondary emotions, a higher level of intelligence is needed.  These studies now say that dogs have a bigger range of emotions than was once thought. In addition, these behaviors were exhibited in dogs, cats, sheep, cows, pigs, horses, and hamsters. Dogs seem to exhibit the  greatest intensity of jealous behaviors.  This may be due to a dog’s fear of wanting to maintain their place in “the pack”. Dogs would rather not share their “family” with anyone else.  In addition to a new lover entering the scene, this jealous dog behavior can be seen when a new pet is brought into the house, and even a new baby. To a dog, the stability, and routine has changed, and so has their security.  They don’t know why the new pet or person is there, and they don’t know what will happen to them now that there is a change.  Out of acting defensively, they may exhibit aggressive behavior, show signs of anxiety or depression, or revert to other “bad behavior”.  Should this happen, it may be wise to consult with a dog trainer who will be able to work with the dog, the owner, and the new situation.  Dog trainers are very familiar with a variety of pet behaviors and will correct the situation before it gets worse.  It may also be advisable to consult with a dog trainer before the changes occur, so that you know what to expect and how to handle the jealous dog’s behavior in a constructive way.

It is important to understand that the dog’s behavior is a result of emotions that have been affected by these changes. It might seem like it is easy to overlook the emotional health and mental stability of your pet dog. But dogs watch us with a laser focus and notice how they are treated. In one study, groups of paired dogs were asked to give their paw. One dog got rewarded, the other dog did not. After a time, the dog that was not rewarded, gave up on giving their paw.  The dog exhibited resentful behavior, and noticed they were being treated “unfairly” (if dogs could define the word unfairly). Human beings have somewhat the same feelings and act with similar behavior reactions.  Perhaps dogs have learned these traits from living with humans for thousands of years.

Some behaviors that dogs exhibit when they are stressed include, licking and scratching themselves if they were not given the attention they desired.  The pet dogs reacted by trying to get affection from their owners when they felt attention was denied them.  These behaviors can get worse over time, but dog trainers know how to effectively deal with such behaviors.

How do you know if your dog is jealous?   Very often if you notice behaviors such as depression, lethargy, aggressive behaviors, snapping, snarling, growling, moodiness, biting, and other anxiety induced behaviors, your dog may be exhibiting signs of jealous behavior.  Should you notice any changes in your dog’s behavior, or anticipate these changes you can help your dog tremendously by keeping the same routines, maintain the usual habits you were doing before the new arrival of the person or pet.  Be sure to give extra affection and attention to your dog to let you know you still love him. Make a big deal when the dog is behaving the way you want them to behave.  Be a strong leader, use discipline, and rewards whenever necessary.  Show your pet dog compassion and empathy so that they will feel your love.  It is important to understand the situation from your dog’s point of view if you want them to behave. There are things you can’t explain to them in words, but showing them in actions will be enough for them to understand.  They need your love and attention more than ever when things have changed suddenly for them.  Your affection towards your dog will be rewarded with lasting loyal behavior from your canine companion.

Although dog do have feelings of jealousy, it is believed that their emotions are different than human emotions.  Dogs lives are all about the current moment, and so their feelings are probably more rudimentary.  Emotions are a hard thing to measure on any living creature. It really isn’t important how complex the feeling is, what is important is to acknowledge that your dog may have jealous feelings and the dog’s behavior will probably change. It is important to help your dog, either by understanding their feelings and compensating for their fears of displacement in the house, and perhaps by bringing in a dog trainer who can help with the situation and bring about positive behaviors from this change. Dogs and humans have a very close relationship.  We read each other’s cues and respond to each other’s wants. There are evolutionary explanations as to how dogs can accurately read our cues, and the more we look at these studies and understand dog behavior, the more we can understand human behavior.

Dogs originated from the grey wolf thousands of years ago, ad throughout history dogs have been my man’s side.  They have been loyal and affectionate animals who have co-existed with us since the stone age. Your pet dog depends on you for food, shelter, affection, attention, pet health care, emotional well being.  When they express their feelings through negative behavior, it is important to gain an understanding of what to do, and learn how to correct this behavior, so that your dog stays happy.  Some people believe dogs can’t be jealous, they may be behaving badly, from feeling insecure. Anthromorphism is attributing human characteristics to an animal.  People certainly do this with their pet dogs, but it has been a long time tradition, since they have shown to be faithful companions who understand humans in ways better than any other species.

What do you think?  Do dogs deserve to have human attributes associated with them?  

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Tillman the skateboarding bulldog from the iphone commercial. All clips are from January 2007. Tillman was a little over a year old at the time. A little history of this first video. I Filmed the video using a just purchased Panasonic Lumix TZ1. I was bicycling through Venice Beach California when I came upon the skateboarding dog. Originally the first video had the soundtrack “Giving In” by linkin Park. Once the video appeared in iphone commercials I removed the video from youtube because of the attention it was getting and I had no rights to use the song. As time approached for Apple’s release of the iphone with youtube, youtube contacted me and requested I reinstate the video without the soundtrack. Youtube wanted users to be able to view the skateboarding dog in the store and after purchasing their iphone. Unfortunately youtube gave me only a few hours to re-edited video before the iphone release. The original background sound on most of the clips was ruined by hysterical laughter from a woman watching Tillman so I cut and pasted sound in from other parts of the video to cover the laughter. That’s why some claim they hear the word eskimo over and over-lol. When the original video with the Linkin Park soundtrack was selected it had around 15000 views.
Video Rating: 4 / 5