According to Diana Merino Lima, an academic at the Faculty of Higher Studies Cuautitlán, science has detected that animals can exhibit basic emotions such as fear, joy, anxiety, anger, and even disgust. Although they cannot express what they feel, it is possible to identify what is happening to them through their body language, that is, their body positions.

Animal Behavior Medicine

This field has studied what goes through the minds of animals, leading to the catalog of behaviors known as an ethogram. There are body ethograms for horses, wild and domestic canines, and even facial gestures for cats. These help determine, for example, if a cat moves its head left or right depending on a pleasant or unpleasant stimulus.

However, there isn't an exact description that indicates, for instance, that a dog is completely happy. Therefore, it's important to be careful when interpreting their gestures, such as tail wagging, which doesn't always signify happiness.

An Emotional Bond with Your Dog

The emotional bonds between dogs and people are very particular. Each pair or family can interpret, for example, their dog's barking according to different situations. Humans can differentiate the behavior of a dog or cat with different people or family members. Generally, the strongest emotional bond develops with whoever interacts with them the most.

Dogs can perceive human emotions like sadness, anger, or disgust through facial expressions. "In short, we don't know how to speak dog and cat language, but they identify our body language very efficiently," added the university academic.

Dogs' Empathy for Humans

MRI studies have shown how dogs process emotions and empathy, and recognize not only voice but also gestures, from both familiar and unfamiliar people. They even try to bring comfort to individuals who are not feeling well.

Dog Language

Sofía Rodríguez, coordinator of the Clinical Ethology specialty at UNAM's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics, explains that signals like ears lowered or looking away indicate fear, while a playful posture and tail wagging signal contentment. If a dog displays positive behaviors like sleeping, playing, or licking at home, it indicates they enjoy interaction with their family. Conversely, if they hide or avoid contact, they may be sad or scared.

If you cannot identify a behavior of your dog or do not recognize its emotions, you can take it for consultation at UNAM's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics at the Veterinary Hospital of Specialties in Wildlife and Clinical Ethology, which attends from Monday to Saturday by appointment.

For more information, visit: https://fmvz.unam.mx/fmvz/servicios/s_etologia.html

Contact and appointments: 55 5622 5942 or clinicafaunasilvestre@hotmail.com or etologiaclinicafmvzunam@hotmail.com

Key takeaways

• Animals, such as dogs and cats, can exhibit basic emotions, and these are identified through their body language.
• Animal behavior medicine has developed ethograms to better understand these behaviors.
• The emotional bonds between dogs and humans are unique and vary according to interaction.
• Dogs can perceive and respond to human emotions.
• UNAM offers consultation services to understand and address canine emotions.