Owners’ Beliefs regarding the Emotional Capabilities of Their Dogs and Cats
The correct interpretation of an animal’s emotional state is crucial for successful human–animal interaction. When studying dog and cat emotional expressions, a key source of information is the pet owner, given the extensive interactions they have had with their pets. In this online survey we asked...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/5/820 |
| _version_ | 1797615896465768448 |
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| author | Olivia Pickersgill Daniel S. Mills Kun Guo |
| author_facet | Olivia Pickersgill Daniel S. Mills Kun Guo |
| author_sort | Olivia Pickersgill |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The correct interpretation of an animal’s emotional state is crucial for successful human–animal interaction. When studying dog and cat emotional expressions, a key source of information is the pet owner, given the extensive interactions they have had with their pets. In this online survey we asked 438 owners whether their dogs and/or cats could express 22 different primary and secondary emotions, and to indicate the behavioral cues they relied upon to identify those expressed emotions. Overall, more emotions were reported in dogs compared to cats, both from owners that owned just one species and those that owned both. Although owners reported a comparable set of sources of behavioral cues (e.g., body posture, facial expression, and head posture) for dogs and cats in expressing the same emotion, distinct combinations tended to be associated with specific emotions in both cats and dogs. Furthermore, the number of emotions reported by dog owners was positively correlated with their personal experience with dogs but negatively correlated with their professional experience. The number of emotions reported in cats was higher in cat-only households compared to those that also owned dogs. These results provide a fertile ground for further empirical investigation of the emotional expressions of dogs and cats, aimed at validating specific emotions in these species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:33:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fd2535d14548495aa0287ed0dc1649d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:33:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-fd2535d14548495aa0287ed0dc1649d62023-11-17T07:12:49ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-02-0113582010.3390/ani13050820Owners’ Beliefs regarding the Emotional Capabilities of Their Dogs and CatsOlivia Pickersgill0Daniel S. Mills1Kun Guo2Department of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7DL, UKDepartment of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7DL, UKSchool of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7DL, UKThe correct interpretation of an animal’s emotional state is crucial for successful human–animal interaction. When studying dog and cat emotional expressions, a key source of information is the pet owner, given the extensive interactions they have had with their pets. In this online survey we asked 438 owners whether their dogs and/or cats could express 22 different primary and secondary emotions, and to indicate the behavioral cues they relied upon to identify those expressed emotions. Overall, more emotions were reported in dogs compared to cats, both from owners that owned just one species and those that owned both. Although owners reported a comparable set of sources of behavioral cues (e.g., body posture, facial expression, and head posture) for dogs and cats in expressing the same emotion, distinct combinations tended to be associated with specific emotions in both cats and dogs. Furthermore, the number of emotions reported by dog owners was positively correlated with their personal experience with dogs but negatively correlated with their professional experience. The number of emotions reported in cats was higher in cat-only households compared to those that also owned dogs. These results provide a fertile ground for further empirical investigation of the emotional expressions of dogs and cats, aimed at validating specific emotions in these species.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/5/820emotionexpressiondogcatowner perceptionwelfare |
| spellingShingle | Olivia Pickersgill Daniel S. Mills Kun Guo Owners’ Beliefs regarding the Emotional Capabilities of Their Dogs and Cats Animals emotion expression dog cat owner perception welfare |
| title | Owners’ Beliefs regarding the Emotional Capabilities of Their Dogs and Cats |
| title_full | Owners’ Beliefs regarding the Emotional Capabilities of Their Dogs and Cats |
| title_fullStr | Owners’ Beliefs regarding the Emotional Capabilities of Their Dogs and Cats |
| title_full_unstemmed | Owners’ Beliefs regarding the Emotional Capabilities of Their Dogs and Cats |
| title_short | Owners’ Beliefs regarding the Emotional Capabilities of Their Dogs and Cats |
| title_sort | owners beliefs regarding the emotional capabilities of their dogs and cats |
| topic | emotion expression dog cat owner perception welfare |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/5/820 |
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