Have you ever sat there looking at your dog and wondered what they are thinking? If you’re anything like us, then the answer is yes.
What are our dogs thinking? Do they really love us? Are they enjoying the day they are having? Your dog has their own daily routine, thoughts, feelings, wants, and desires, but are we always in tune with them?
The Basics About a Dog’s Brain and Mental Capacity
Yes, dogs do have the capacity for thoughts. A dog’s brain is about as big as a lemon, whereas a human’s brain is roughly the size of two small clenched fists put together. Dog brains are also different from humans, not just in size, but also in how they are composed. In human brains, our frontal lobes take up a large portion of our brain, which help with memory, language skills, and judgment, whereas in dogs’ brains, it only takes up about 10% – which isn’t surprising when you consider how well your dog listens to you when they see a squirrel.
How Do Dogs Think?
According to some pet specialists, dogs can learn up to 2,00 human words – but their thoughts are less in words and more in feelings and senses like sounds, smells, and imagery. That’s not to say that we can’t form a narrative of what a dog’s day feels like to them using words.
For a more personal perspective on what a dog wants and feels in human terms or language during a day, we will follow along with Asher, a two-year-old miniature poodle, and see what his owners observed when trying to see what he was thinking and feeling throughout the day. We will also see what popular pet psychiatrists and vets have to say on the matter.
Asher’s Day – Morning Routine
What Asher’s Owners observed: Asher sleeps soundly through our alarms, not stirring, peacefully snoring away on top of his mom’s pillow. We had to pick him up, jolting him from his sleep to take him outside to go to the bathroom after his sister woke up ready to go.
What Asher was probably thinking: *hears alarm blaring for the third time his mom and dad hit snooze*
“Are they ever going to turn that awful noise off? It’s scary and loud and makes me nervous in the morning. Why is mom waking me up? It smells like it rained out last night. I don’t want to get my paws wet.”
Now, does Asher know why he needs to go outside in the morning – biologically, yes, he probably does know that he needs to go to the bathroom, and he is house-trained, so he knows he needs to go outside.
But does Asher know that it is morning? According to popular dog studies, we really don’t know if dogs can sense time in a way that measures the length of time or even time of day; other than that, they are hungry, so they know it’s breakfast or dinner time.
Asher’s Owners Leave for Work – How Does He Feel?
Asher’s owners leave for work every day during the work week, leaving Asher and his sister alone until their dog walker comes by. His owners have a nanny cam that watches him, and he sleeps most of the day – but what is he thinking? Why is he destructive sometimes but not others?
Some dogs, like Asher, do the majority of the time, curl up and go to sleep when his mom and dad leave for work. But, other times, Asher gets really stressed out, especially if he feels like he didn’t get enough snuggle time in with his mom before she left.
One popular study notes that some dogs experience intense distress when they are left alone without their owners, but it’s hard to know if they are thinking about being alone or thinking about their owners.
In Asher’s case, his owners are determined that he misses them when he is destructive because he tends to find items of their clothing and either lay on them or rip them up, which would indicate either anger or intense feelings of loneliness on Asher’s part. Does your dog do anything like this?
Some other destructive behaviors linked to loneliness in dogs during the day include:
- Urination on their owner’s belongings.
- Barking or howling at windows, waiting for their owners to return.
- Chewing at plants or furniture in signs of distress or defiance.
- Trying to escape to a cage or outdoor kennel in the hopes of finding a companion to play with.
If your dog displays some of those above-mentioned qualities, it might have separation anxiety. Why do dogs develop separation anxiety?
- Change of family situation – adding or removing a person in their life.
- Changing their schedule and routine.
- Moving to a new home.
- Adding another pet to the mix.
For more information about separation anxiety and how your dog might be coping with it while you’re away – check out this article from the ASPCA.
Asher Gets to Go For a Walk – Excited and Ready for Adventure
After getting down in the dumps and sad that his owners left, Asher has taken a nap and gets woken up by the sound of his favorite friend arriving at his home to take him for a walk.
While Asher might have been sad about his owner’s leaving, those thoughts and feelings are out the window because he knows what’s in store for him – a walk!
Asher is now excited because he knows his routine and expects what is about to happen. He knows that when he gets his harness put on, he gets to go outside and smell the trees as he walks down the road. He might even envision some of the sights, sounds, and smells he will encounter on his adventure.
His Owners Have Finally Returned – The End of Asher’s Day
While Asher doesn’t know how long his owners are gone, he definitely feels a sigh of relief when his owners come home from work. He feels safe, comforted, and secure, knowing that his owners are home and ready to play with him. But why do dogs get so happy to see us after work?
Dogs see their human owners as part of their pack, and when a member of the pack goes missing and is then reunited with the rest of the pack, it’s a cause for celebration!
Getting the Full Understanding of Your Dog’s Emotions – Reading Body Language
The story of Asher and his reactions to events throughout the day are anything but abnormal – most dogs experience the same feelings of confusion, excitement, and sadness. To really understand your dog, you should familiarize yourself with different aspects of dog body language. Some common aspects of dog body language can be found below, helping us to understand how our dog is feeling during the day.
Tail Wagging – Tail wagging doesn’t always mean that your dog is happy. All a tail wag indicates is that your dog is feeling an emotion. Look at the speed and direction of the wag and the direction their tail is pointed – is it up or is it down between their legs in fear?
Raised – Hair- This can mean that your dog is stressed out or upset, similar to when humans get goosebumps.
Posture – Is your dog cowering in fear, or are they holding its head high in excitement?
Eyes – You can learn a lot about your dog from looking at its eyes. Soft eyes have relaxed lids and make your dog look like they are squinting at the sun, indicating that your dog is calm or happy. At the same time, hard eyes could mean that your dog is scared or senses a threat.
These are just a few of the many behaviors that we can observe in dogs to try to figure out what they are feeling.
Final Thoughts on a Dog’s Day
While we may never know exactly what our dog is thinking throughout the day, we do know that they love us and that they do feel emotions and make deep connections with their human owners – which, for many dog owners, is more than enough.
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