Is the owner’s dog jealous of other dogs?

For a long time, it was believed that jealousy is an exclusively human feeling, since for its occurrence it is necessary to be able to build complex conclusions. In fact, jealousy is a feeling of threat from the presence of a competitor (rival), and this threat must not only be recognized, but also its degree should be assessed, as well as the risks associated with it should be predicted. And where are the dogs with their “naked instincts”! However, now the opinion of scientists about the psychology and behavior of dogs is gradually changing. In particular, no one argues with the fact that their inner world is much more complicated than people imagined before. Is the owner’s dog jealous of other dogs?

Photo: wikimedia.org

Is there jealousy in dogs?

Even Charles Darwin at one time suggested the presence of jealousy in dogs, and for sure most owners could share stories about how dogs are jealous of them not only to other animals, but also to people. However, studies on this topic have not been conducted, and without them, our assumptions are, alas, just assumptions. But recently the situation has changed.

Christine Harris and Caroline Prouvost (University of California) decided to investigate the existence of jealousy in dogs and conducted an experiment.

During the experiment, the owners and dogs were offered three situations:

1. The owners ignored their dogs, but at the same time played with a toy dog ​​that “knew how” to whine, bark and wag its tail.
2. The owners ignored their dogs, but interacted with a Halloween pumpkin doll.
3. The owners did not pay attention to the dogs, but at the same time they read aloud a children’s book, which at the same time played melodies.

36 dog-owner pairs took part in the experiment.

It is clear that situations 2 and 3 were created solely with the aim of separating jealousy from the demands of attention, because jealousy implies not just a thirst for communication with a partner, but also an awareness of the threat from another being.

The results of the study showed that dogs that observed the interaction of the owner with a toy puppy tried to draw attention to themselves 2 to 3 times more persistently. They touched the person with their paw, climbed under the arm, squeezed between the owner and the toy dog, and even attempted to bite her. At the same time, only one dog tried to attack a pumpkin or a book.

That is, the dogs perceived the “live” toy as a rival and, by the way, tried to interact with it as with another dog (for example, sniff under the tail).

Scientists have concluded that jealousy is a feeling inherent not only in people.

Photo: nationalgeographic.org

Why do dogs get jealous of other dogs?

Jealousy is associated with the presence of a competitor. And dogs almost always compete with each other for certain resources. Moreover, if we take into account that the owner is the main resource, on whose favor the distribution of other resources depends, the reason for jealousy becomes quite obvious.

In the end, the owner’s contacts with a competitor can cause rivals to get some of the resources so dear to the dog’s heart, among which communication with the owner itself is not the last place for many dogs. How can a self-respecting dog allow such a thing?