We see them now all the time on social media, dogs behaving in ways we understand or rather in ways that seem understandable to us. Wagging tails signalling joy, pacing and agitated when in pain; tail between the legs and ears back as anxiety, when things seem strange; angry when sensing danger.
Yet my vet brother-in-law cautions against us ‘anthropomorphising’ dogs. He keeps reminding that dogs, indeed, are not humans and we should not be projecting feelings, especially when those projected emotions get in the way of proper dog and household management. Like being worried about how the dogs will react to being left behind when you have to be away for a period.
I am not a dog person. and I have been quite judgmental about those people, like my vivacious aunt, Wavel, (‘poor thing, she’s dead now” as her father would say about those who met their maker before him). She was chained to the house and locale because she just could not leave Sukie and Winston (her tiny dogs ) on their own. Her partner and she could not travel together unless the dogs were with them. And what about those people who let dogs lick them on their face? Let them sleep in the bed. Who grieve so hard when the pet dies? Like they have lost a very close family member?
If I am to be truthful, I would confess that there have been many, many times, I have looked on and thought, ‘Geez! Give some of that care to the great many children who need some love and joy’.
It was not always so and may also not be so in the future. As children we had several cats and two dogs. Che and Castro. What else! It was the 60’s. Che, a female, was mostly a dachshund and Castro, her son, well his father came from a good neighborhood. Those dogs gave us many a happy time and we played with and fed them. That for us was enough attention, I suppose. They were house dogs and had the run of everywhere. Yet the word I associate with dogs as a child was ‘mash!’. Dominican speak for ‘go away dog’.
In my own nuclear family, we have also had dogs , a parade of bull mastiff mixes. But I did not bond. Then came Nala and Julie. Unfortunately, Nala, a moody and most beautiful rottweiler(ish) died in June. She had been sick and despite enough vet visits, was not diagnosed until it was too late for meaningful intervention. Truth is, socialised by the experience of Che and Castro who, being pothounds, thrived (or survived) no matter how they were treated or otherwise neglected, I was discombobulated by Nala’s demise. And hurt for the family and curiously, most hurt for Julie. I imagined, because how else would I know, that she missed her garden buddy. I perceived that Julie was adrift and puzzled.

With her grief (I imagine), still quite fresh, we all left the house for weeks on end, leaving Julie more or less by herself. A family member was around and taking care, but really we were all gone. Yesterday we returned. Julie stood at the fence and dog-cried. She was beside herself. How do I know? She jumped, panted, ran, licked, circled on herself, sprang up and down and then followed us from door to door, keeping us in sight. I feel badly that we left her alone. This is me anthropomorphising Julie.
There are any number of articles online which try to suss out what dogs feel. In Psychology Today, one researcher concedes that dogs have the emotional awareness of a 2 1/2 year old human. By six months, they experience the emotions of love, joy, excitement but also distress, anger, fear and shyness. Unlike humans however, dogs do not do shame, pride, guilt or contempt. Lucky dogs.

Shame, guilt, contempt and pride are described as complex social emotions, all having elements that must be learned. In other words, we teach children, through our responses to them, or around them, all of this negativity. Several people commented on the article, describing it as ridiculous. They had examples of dogs showing jealousy, shame and contempt. One commentator thought that humans deny dogs these emotions because they imply that dogs have a sense of ‘self’ and therefore experience ‘consciousness’. Another writer considered the denial of a fuller range of emotions in dogs specious because the neurochemical system for all of mammals are nearly the same. It is just that “humans just have bigger brain to describe feelings in an abstract way.”
Who’s to know? Is this one of these essentially unknowables? An eternal mystery because, well, dogs cannot talk?
And does it matter? If you have consciousness, feel remorse and guilt about how you treat your dog, well perhaps that is enough to make sure of a good dog’s life.
Whatever dogs may or may not feel, I perceive that Julie experienced abandonment these last few weeks. Or at least, I know we left her alone! Next time, we will have to do better for taking care of poor Julie’s emotional life when we leave the house for an extended period.