Dogs possess the same brain structures and hormones that trigger emotions in humans. However, their emotional range is limited to those of a 2- to 2-and-a-half-year-old human. Dogs experience basic emotions such as joy, fear, anger, disgust, and love, but they lack complex emotions like guilt, pride, and shame. Despite this, we often interpret our dogs’ emotions through their body language, such as a wagging tail indicating happiness or cringing indicating fear.
It’s important to note that the existence of emotions in dogs has been a topic of scientific debate for some time. In the past, it was believed that dogs had rich emotional lives similar to humans, but as science progressed, we began to understand that living beings, including animals, are governed by mechanical and chemical processes.
Religions in early eras emerged in response to these groundbreaking discoveries, proposing that human existence encompasses more than mere mechanical and chemical processes. Scholars within the Church emphasized the presence of souls in humans, citing consciousness and emotions as evidence. While animals possess similar mechanical systems, to some they lack a divine essence, thus rendering them incapable of experiencing genuine emotions.
Given that research during that era was predominantly sponsored by the Church, it is unsurprising that influential figures like the French philosopher and scientist René Descartes adopted this perspective. Descartes, in a highly influential series of analyses, regarded animals such as dogs as mere machines, a dog-shaped chassis filled with biological equivalents of gears and pulleys. Although lacking consciousness and emotions, this machine-like entity could still be programmed to perform specific tasks.
However, in recent times, scientific advancements have surpassed Descartes’ understanding. We now comprehend that dogs possess the same brain structures responsible for generating emotions in humans. Additionally, dogs undergo similar hormonal fluctuations and chemical changes during emotional states. Remarkably, dogs even possess oxytocin, a hormone associated with love and affection in humans.