Do you think dogs actually feel joy, or do people seem to anthropomorphize them?

[Chazmatazz269]

Follow me on this one…
As “man’s best friend”, maybe dogs are merely very enthusiastically participating in the activities that they think we love. As is common for people to do, we interpret that enthusiasm as the human emotion “joy”.

Updates

11 mo

https://youtu.be/piNvwQ_uHMo?si=gsXSuw0i1ZFDYmrR

[abc3643]

Of course they do.

Emotions are an early creation in evolution because, without them, you die do to making bad decisions.

For instance:

Dinosaur McCoy experiences fear from seeing a T-Rex. When Dinosaur McCoy sees a T-Rex, he flees from the T-Rex.

Dinosaur Spock has no emotions. When Dinosaur Spock sees a T-Rex, he doesn't necessarily fell from the T-Rex. He only does so if he realizes this bit of logic: "A T-Rex will eat a dinosaur like me. If I am to live, I must avoid any T-Rex that become aware of. Oh, there's a T-Rex. It is best if I flee." But, by the time Dino Spock figures this out and act, the T-Rex may have caught and killed Dino Spock. Besides, why SHOULD Dino Spock want to live? How is that in his best interests? It only is if he has emotions which tell him of his self-importance... that "urge to survive" instinct in all of us is really a "meta-emotion", in a sense, because it leads to other emotions like hunger, thirst, and fear.

Back to Dino Spock... his lack of emotions leads him and his kind to be killed more often than Dino McCoy. Dino McCoy gets to live another day making babies with Mrs. Dino McCoy. Dino Spock, being a T-Rex dinner, doesn't get to make babies. So, after a while, you are only left with Dino McCoys... the dinosaurs with emotions... because the dinosaurs without emotions were wiped out. They were not fit enough to survive.

[msc545]

My cat Allister - who also feels joy - says they do.

[Chazmatazz269]

Hahaha!

[wynning]

I don't think joy is strictly a human emotion. It's just an elevated version of happiness. Although we probably do have a tendency to anthropomorphise anything that we feel attached to.

[Babygirl_S]

Those who study them know that they even have a wolf smile. I saw her ears smile for her whenever I gave my pet eggs. She loved eggs.

[AviatorTom]

Our dog experiences joy. Like a human, she has happy times and not so happy times. More importantly, a dog is loyal, something often missing in humans.

[andreasderjuengere]

They do. Just not the way we humans feel it

And indeed: thanks to Disney and other similar garbage, many people don't see dogs as dogs.

[Chazmatazz269]

Do you think that’s a case of life imitating art or the other way around?

[DJB72]

Ever tried to get a Great Dane to do something it didn't want to do?

I've got a Golden Retriever at the moment. She's not exactly an "emotional support" animal unless the emotion she's supporting is frustration. But my life is better with her in it and she's part of the family.

[RandomUser1000]

Yes I think they can feel joy.

They can also dream.

Dad has said their dog sleep runs sometimes.

[Chazmatazz269]

I’ve observed that myself.
If you’re 109, how old is your dad?
Ell oh ell!

[RandomUser1000]

A couple of thousands :p

o O ( Have you ever experienced when the math isn't mathing? )

[Jupiter1]

Joy is a precious feeling every animal would love to experience. Dogs are probably the most expressive of their feelings, especially that of joy. Unfortunately, many animals don’t know what joy feels like especially if they are alone without being loved by others.

[zagor]

Yes I do. No reason to think it is limited to humans.

I remember reading about someone's account of hiking in Glacier NP and seeing a grizzly bear repeatedly running up a snowbank and sliding down on it's butt, just for fun.

[OneViewpoint]

Yes people anthropomorphize animals. Yes dogs can feel joy. So can cows. Dolphins. Elephants.

[Xawyx-2]

I think all animals have feelings, or at least most of them.

[slatyb]

It's barely possible to know what another person is feeling. Do dogs feel joy? All we can know is their behavior -- whether they are eager to do something, or avoid it.

[LiamJHayden]

Yes they do, usually far more than the average person does.

[Orion84]

Anyone who's ever played fetch with a dog, or seen the way they greet you when you come home, knows the answer to that question.

[Cormac995]

they 100% feel and understand joy. Have you ever even had a pet at all?

[Glamourous_Stacey]

They do, but in a different way.

[exitseven]

Dogs seem to have a lot of fun/

[WonderingManII]

Dogs have more joy than people do.

[Twalli]

Joy, probably not, happiness, yes.

[JazzieJanna]

All animals feel something