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<(o_0)> 7 Feb, 2024 @ 3:20pm
Can dogs express gratitude?
I have a Husky and today it just occurred to me that she won't eat her treats unless I'm with her but more to the point she won't eat them until she "thanks" me. Her regular food she eats normally but if I hand her a treat, she gets me to follow her more or less then "thanks" me for her treats. For the longest time I thought she was just happy and she wanted me to watch her enjoy her snack. It's how she did it today that made me question the dog brain more accurately the dog mind.

When I mean she "thanked" me, I mean when I sat down next to her on the floor she her put her forehead to my face, walks around me for a bit then laid between my legs and starts to chew her treat. I got up to use the bathroom and when I came back she was sitting "at attention" next to her treat just looking at me. She's not trained so when I sat down next to her and she started to eat it again I thought is this an invite of some kind?

It occurred to me she's always done this but I never noticed until today because I just contrasted her behavior against what my other dogs would do when they got treats...to just eat them on the spot or run off and eat them.

I've had dogs most of my life as well as other pets, but I've never had any animal besides her to again; what I could get out of this, is to express her "gratitude". From what I gather most dogs might have the intelligence of a five year old person but they also have their own range of emotions. Joy, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, guilt.

But I've never seen a display of "gratitude" I'm sure dogs and feel gratitude but I've never seen it expressed or to be better put, expressed well enough that a person could pick up on it. Is this specific to her or her breed?
Last edited by <(o_0)>; 7 Feb, 2024 @ 3:26pm
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Showing 1-15 of 23 comments
Stranger 7 Feb, 2024 @ 3:23pm 
They do it so often it's hard to take them seriously, but yes.

Also not necessarily specific to her breed, but huskies do tend to value interpersonal communication. Most dogs just feel gratitude and display it by following the pack leader (ie you.) Huskies are a little more likely to go out of their way to show it.
Last edited by Stranger; 7 Feb, 2024 @ 3:24pm
#1
vkobe 7 Feb, 2024 @ 3:24pm 
it is why we say dog is loyal to his owner
#2
AerSilver 7 Feb, 2024 @ 3:26pm 
What, never experienced gratitude licks from a dog before?
#3
Rabblevox 7 Feb, 2024 @ 3:26pm 
I had a black lab "Molly" when I was young. When I fed her dog food, she ate it. When I fed her beef or chicken off my plate, she would not only bump my leg before, but put her head on my foot after. Was that gratitude, or begging for more? IDK, but I prefer to think the former.

What's very clear, whether gratitude or begging, dogs know who butters their bread.
#4
Stranger 7 Feb, 2024 @ 3:27pm 
Originally posted by vkobe:
it is why we say dog is loyal to his owner

Dogs turn on unjust leaders all the time. The misconception that they won't is something humans tell themselves, to justify their own decisions not to.
Last edited by Stranger; 7 Feb, 2024 @ 3:28pm
#5
Voroff 7 Feb, 2024 @ 3:29pm 
Originally posted by Aunt Samantha:
I have a Husky
Yeah, they express gratitude, in fact they know only how to express that mostly, and usually show that by ruining the carpet. Them gifts are not for human use.


Get a cat. Norwegian or siberian forest cat. Those things are big enought to protecc and attacc.
Last edited by Voroff; 7 Feb, 2024 @ 3:30pm
#6
Rabblevox 7 Feb, 2024 @ 4:07pm 
Originally posted by Aunt Samantha:
@All, This may be a stretch but is there a way of expressing to her a sense of "you're welcome" or "it's ok"? I thought hugs would be good but I hug her all the time. Would she be able to notice by the circumstance this hug is different than the others?

Could she be made to understand in return that she never needs to thank me ever? Ehhh, that's probably "too human" to do.

@Rabblevox That's a good notion. Is dog behavior universal to the species or the breed or the individual or to the trained or untrained? Granted yes the canine has behavior that's shared throughout the entire species and I don't wanna go too far into it since it's getting into psychology and I guess animal psychology is more instinctual the further you go down the ladder..but I guess my question is, are dogs capable of being more than what evolution and instinct designed them to be? (Within reason of course)

I've seen a video on youtube of a female lion chasing down a young, a very young gazelle or antelope, and when she finally caught it....it was amazing, you can see it on the lion's face on how confused she was. She kept trying to bite through her neck but she kept pulling away from the act...No blood. No injury. Not only did she not eat the gazelle but sat next to it and hung out for a bit.

You could almost see the wheels in her head turning. She chased this animal down to kill and eat it but when she caught it and tried to do just that, she stopped.

Are some animals able to go against their instinct or become more than what they are?


Originally posted by Aunt Samantha:
@All, This may be a stretch but is there a way of expressing to her a sense of "you're welcome" or "it's ok"? I thought hugs would be good but I hug her all the time. Would she be able to notice by the circumstance this hug is different than the others?

Could she be made to understand in return that she never needs to thank me ever? Ehhh, that's probably "too human" to do.

@Rabblevox That's a good notion. Is dog behavior universal to the species or the breed or the individual or to the trained or untrained? Granted yes the canine has behavior that's shared throughout the entire species and I don't wanna go too far into it since it's getting into psychology and I guess animal psychology is more instinctual the further you go down the ladder..but I guess my question is, are dogs capable of being more than what evolution and instinct designed them to be? (Within reason of course)

I've seen a video on youtube of a female lion chasing down a young, a very young gazelle or antelope, and when she finally caught it....it was amazing, you can see it on the lion's face on how confused she was. She kept trying to bite through her neck but she kept pulling away from the act...No blood. No injury. Not only did she not eat the gazelle but sat next to it and hung out for a bit.

You could almost see the wheels in her head turning. She chased this animal down to kill and eat it but when she caught it and tried to do just that, she stopped.

Are some animals able to go against their instinct or become more than what they are?

Those are good questions. Sometimes I wish I had become an animal psychologist (but driving trucks was easier and paid better) I don't know if animals can "evolve" in the way you mean. But on the "don't do" spectrum, they can absolutely be trained to guard, not attack, to not eat poop, and not to lick butts in front of humans. On the positive side, bond the right dog with the right child, and the dog will unhesitatingly spend it's life to protect the kid. Also, ref America's Got Talent Australian doggy act. That dog may not be super-human, but it's certainly super-canine. Instinct? Training? Maybe proto-evolution? Don't know. But know for sure animals are smarter and more sensitive than we credit them for.
#7
Stranger 7 Feb, 2024 @ 4:09pm 
Originally posted by Aunt Samantha:
@All, This may be a stretch but is there a way of expressing to her a sense of "you're welcome" or "it's ok"? I thought hugs would be good but I hug her all the time. Would she be able to notice by the circumstance this hug is different than the others?
You can try talking to them about it, but you have to remember that dogs haven't exactly had 20+ years of critical thinking training like humans have. So their grammar skills aren't going to be great, and they might not be that great at thinking through their feelings as an individual. Unlike, say, a cat.

They can smell your emotions though, so just 'feel' different while you're doing it. Your body will put out the appropriate pheromones, and this can help with the language barrier.

Still, your ideas about how things work might be different. Just like any other person they might not respond in the way you expect them to, in regards to your emotions. Just make sure to remind them everything's okay, but don't do it so much they become anxious about the possiblity that there's something they ought to be worried about.

Could she be made to understand in return that she never needs to thank me ever? Ehhh, that's probably "too human" to do.
She might understand but disagree, just like many obstinate but subservient humans do.
Last edited by Stranger; 7 Feb, 2024 @ 4:11pm
#8
Michu 7 Feb, 2024 @ 4:32pm 
Originally posted by AerSilver ♞:
What, never experienced gratitude licks from a dog before?

My dog does it eveytime I give him a treat, he's a good boy.
Last edited by Michu; 7 Feb, 2024 @ 4:32pm
#9
MinionJoe 7 Feb, 2024 @ 5:20pm 
Sure they do.

They'll also give you the cold shoulder for a day if you don't share your steak sandwich with them.
#10
Ulfrinn 24 Jul @ 8:05pm 
They also seem to be able to know and understand shame too. I've seen dogs do something they knew wasn't right, and then feel bad about it afterwards.
#11
Mina 24 Jul @ 8:09pm 
they match feelings but arent self aware of themselves or separate things
#12
RIP Ozzy The Godfather Of Metal 24 Jul @ 8:30pm 
Originally posted by Ulfrinn:
They also seem to be able to know and understand shame too. I've seen dogs do something they knew wasn't right, and then feel bad about it afterwards.
My puppy did that pooped on the floor by mistake looked at it then looked at me all sad like I'm sorry. She was only about 10 weeks old.
#13
friend robocat 24 Jul @ 8:41pm 
ofc so obvious
#14
$2 Hero 24 Jul @ 8:58pm 
I give my dog treats and he immediately goes and buries them.
#15
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Date Posted: 7 Feb, 2024 @ 3:20pm
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