Most dog owners have experience situations where they observed acts of jealousy coming from their dog. New research shows that such behavior can happen even when dogs don’t directly see the trigger for their feeling of jealousy. To be more specific, it appears that dogs can create mental image of a perceived situation that pushes them towards act of jealousy. The research cannot answer whether these feelings are experienced the same way as the humans do, but we can definitely confirm that dogs are and can be jealous.
Key Takeaways:
- About 80% of dog owners have reported instances of their dog getting jealous when they are not given full attention.
- Studies were done that shows owners giving affection to a fake dog and the results supported the claim that dogs get jealous.
- These studies were done to try to figure out the mindset of a dog but there is still much work left to do to figure out why they get jealous.
“In other words, dogs appear to have the mental capacity to imagine a situation that would make them feel jealous, even if it’s not fully in sight.”
