The Life of a Dog – A Deep Dive into Emotions 

Have you ever wanted to explore the emotions of a dog? You may wonder what it feels like to be a dog. The good news is that research in behavior and biology offers much insight into the mystery of canine emotions. Like humans, dogs come with a variety of emotions! They can be happy, fearful, anxious, depressed, or affectionate (just to name a few). People wonder if science demonstrates that dogs have emotions much like ours.

Have you noticed your dog’s emotions when you look at them? Dogs can have a “secure-base effect” on those who care for them. Affection indicates emotion, as the dog can be relaxed around you. Understand the attachment that a child has to his mother or father. Dogs act in the same manner! They play when their parents are around, wait for them while they are away from home, and stick by your side when you are home.

Research also shows that various facial expressions are associated with different emotions in dogs. Did you know that the eyebrow on the left side of the face is more active when dogs see their owners? This has to do with the correspondence to the right side of the brain, which controls expression and emotion. Interesting, isn’t it? At the end of the day, our assumptions about dogs and their emotions are subjective because we can only base a dog’s feelings on human expressions.

You do not have to rely on research (or this article) to determine how you feel about dogs and their emotions. If you observe and acknowledge your dog’s behavior, you will dive deeper than any researcher can! Emotions are a huge part of life; dogs show them as humans do!