Be Kind - Dogs experience emotions like us
New research has come out on how human and canine brains work. For me, I am not surprised that it seems to prove that when it comes to emotion and perception, the human and dog brain is crazy similar in its wiring. When I read the piece, honestly I got distracted a little by the relief I felt when reading about the dogs used in the study. They trained the dogs to hold still so an MRI could be done without anesthesia. Since I don't like when people try to get a dog to let them put a paper hat on their head, when the dog clearly isn't okay with it, you can imagine how I felt here.
"The ability to experience positive emotions, like love and attachment, would mean that dogs have a level of sentience comparable to that of a human child. And this ability suggests a rethinking of how we treat dogs."
While I appreciate the value in learning from dogs, I'm a firm believer in minimizing what we subject them to for our benefit. Dogs aren't people but they are beings who deserve respect, and compassion.
I'd be interested to read your thoughts on this research, and its outcome. Are you surprised about the findings? I'd love to hear your reactions in the comments below.
Many friends and animal-related organizations have shared this story with me. For some of their takes on dogs having feels too, check out:
Zak George, Dog Trainer - Facebook post
Dogs Are People, Too - NY Times
Dogs have FEELINGS too! Neuroscientist reveals research that our canine friends have emotions just like us Image above via Daily Mail UK
A professor of neuroeconomics at a university in Georgia has discovered that dogs have emotion, just like humans.
Gregory Berns, a professor of neuroeconomics at Emory University, Atlanta, who has been testing the results of MRI scans on his dog’s brain, has discovered that our canine friends use the same part of the brain as humans to ‘feel’.