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Do dogs feel things in the same way as humans? This is a question I’m asked frequently. Quite frankly, if you’re a dog owner, it’s a question you probably ought to be asking yourself.

“Dogs have personalities. Anyone who’s owned more than one dog knows this to be true.”

— Scott Sheaffer

After personally working with thousands of troubled dogs, my personal opinion is that, yes, dogs do have many, if not all, of the same or similar emotional feelings that humans do. I have that belief for both scientific and experiential reasons. But, I do have one caveat; I’m not so sure dogs feel things exactly like we do.

The problem is that we can’t interview dogs. We can’t ask them to provide details about how they feel about certain events and triggers they’re experiencing. We can only observe their body language and infer their emotional state.

Below I’ve provided some of the reasons why I believe that a dog’s emotional life parallels ours quite closely. These reasons span anecdotal observations to more scientific reasons.

First, dogs have personalities. Anyone who’s owned more than one dog knows this to be true. It’s one of the things that makes dog ownership so much fun. For more information, please see Is Your Dog Introverted or Extroverted?

Did you know that the behavioral medications used for more severe dog behavior issues are often the same ones used to treat similar human mental conditions (e.g., Prozac, Xanax, Ritalin, Paxil, Zoloft, Buspar and Valium to name just a few)? These kinds of drugs are frequently tested on dogs by pharmaceutical companies when being developed before being used on humans.

Dogs and primates are commonly used in human psychological research. The results of these studies are later used in human applications.

Dogs appear to have many of the same mental issues that humans have, such as compulsive disorders, aggression, phobias, fear and all types of anxieties.

Neurological issues in dogs, such as seizures, seem to be similar to many of the same neurological issues found in humans.

Dogs’ brain structure is quite similar to that of humans. Some fascinating studies using MRIs appear to show the same areas of human and dog brains light up when exposed to similar triggers.

The final reason I believe dogs feel things in the same way we do is the least scientific of all. Many behaviorists come to the same conclusion after observing and interacting with dogs over an extended period. It just looks like they must see the world much as we do.