Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Rock]

I'm thinking-and not-along those lines of that Russian guy Pavlov, or whoever he was, after reading a book. It'd said how he'd trained dogs to listen to a bell in order to get fed, thinking torture could do the same, Communism coerce you.

Never mind that. I just wonder if dogs really sense their master, or friend. Or is it just because we feed them? Is it because it was designed that way?

Domestic vs's wild? Forget evolution, I've already found that to be false. Somehow or another, dogs are there, and are man's closest ally in life in the animal kingdom.

Someone once said it's "unconditional love," like the open-market dog I'd given my mother, who's never but shown affection for my ailing mother, she taking to him like a child. Are we reading into dogs, or is there some reciprocation?

[SuperFly]

Of course we love you man.

Now gimmie a treat.

[safeblad]

the sad fact is that your dog does not love you.

Firstly, dogs are incapable of feeling human created concepts such as love.

Secondly, dog owners and their dogs basically have contracts, in exchange for feeding and sheltering the dog, the dog will provide a service for you like showing affection.

[robot]

I dunno, Blad and Rock, your argument is as well put-together as the language in the OP.

[Bramble]

Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

The dogs know I've been responsible for some sloppy posts myself, but *beep*. Can't people try to do a little better than this?

[princess]

[The Bobster]

I think dogs are capable of honest and true affection. Some are. Just as some people are. Okay, I'll amend that "some" to "most."

Instances of true kindness, both among humans and animals are rare. Most relationships are based on agreements made without words, but important nevertheless - same is true for a "companion animal" as for a wedded spouse. The agreements vary, of course. Dogs tend to keep theirs more faithfully than people do. We value the loyalty contained in that faithfulness, and call it love - and maybe that's what it is. It is, in fact, a VERY valuable thing.

There's the old joke, "My wife ran off with my best friend and took my dog and my pickup truck. Damn, I miss that dog."

That's what I'm talkin' about.

[jajdude]

What about sociopathic dogs? There was one in my hometown, when he finally got nabbed, the death toll was around 15 female dogs, brutally mangled. I also heard he was into puppies. What a sick mutt.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Dogs are social animals. Humans are social animals. Take a 6 week old puppy and put it with a family and the mutt adapts to its new pack. It's all biology. And gratifying as heck to the lucky humans.

[SuperFly]

One of my dogs was gay. It's true. My wife would comment on it all the time, and although I wouldn't admit it for the first three or four years - by the fifth year I came out of the closet and called him gay openly as well as introduce him as "my gay dog" - sigh.

[Ya-ta Boy]

A friendly scratch behind the ears for you, Superfly...

But I have a problem with this sentence:

[SuperFly]

[Privateer]

Of course dogs really love us. You can tell just by looking at them you idiot.

The next dumb question asked by behaviourists is "Do animals really feel pain or is it just all outward 'behaviour'?" It's a short step from questioning feelings to questioning even sensations. I say common sense has the answers.

[Muffin]

Love is a difficult word to define at the best of times. I do think that dogs feel attachment to people that goes beyond simply needing food.

When I left home my dog grieved for me although my parents were of course feeding him. A friend said that if she visited the house and my name was mentioned the dog would start whimpering. This went on for a few weeks until he adjusted to my absence.

It is simply not true that animals do not feel emotions. They demonstrate clear evidence of jealousy for example. They also demonstrate fear and anger when threatened and joy when someone returns.

BTW the commas are not working on this pc - please forgive bad punctuation!

[Rock]

Thanks for the imput. I definitely believe dogs have emotions. But by love I'd meant something less than human love. I meant genuine feelings other than that of a wild animal, which I guess defeats the argument dogs aren't capable of showing affection. If they show affection, it must at least mean that they are displaying a liking for our company, meaning a friendship is formed, meaning faithfulness, meaning it's volitional, if that's the correct word.

I'm willing to try this now I have three dogs. They would've been destoyed by now, seeing they were strays. And I've been told, the dog catchers usually only catch the dogs that are the nicest, meaning those who've taken affection to human kindness.

Maybe it's recipricol. This field of study-animal behaviour-has a name I cannot right now well remember.