(May 15, 2013 at 12:11 am)Godschild Wrote: Domesticated dogs have retained their pack motivations and the hierarchy of the pack, probably more things also, but those two are what we as dog trainers key on.
Pretty much what I think too. I wonder if you would agree with me that dogs do feel genuine affection which goes beyond submission? Power based interactions are best understood as you say. But then I do think they have a range of feeling which greatly overlaps our own. They can feel anger and happy and silly and indignant and jealous as well as affection. They can also act heroically and altruistically in the purist, unselfconscious ways.
We are always cautioned against anthropomorphizing and I agree that we shouldn't assume too much. But I think Occam's razor actually cuts in favor of thinking that our emotions and feelings wouldn't be worlds apart from that of every other mammal which in turn is world's apart from that of every other species. Same with our taste sensations and color perception. Perhaps every animal has a unique taste and color experience but I seriously doubt it.
