Can pets read human emotions?

Every species have different ways to express the same emotions. So it is not easy for different species to understand each other's mood.

When a human is happy, or sad, or crying, do you believe a pet know what is going on?

If you have had a pet, how does your pet react to your own emotions?

Yes, every pet I have had has been able to read the emotions of every person in the family. My old dog was able to see when I was sad, angry or in a good mood. Our cats now seem to know everything I'm thinking and our one cat has the look as if he knows what I'm doing.

Animals on this planet are amazing.

I certainly think it depends on the animal. But I have no doubt they cats can sense emotion. I've had cats through good times and had, and the cats I've had definitely know. I've never had much for dogs, but I've seen the same with some dogs and their owners.

And on another note, reptiles can definitely sense emotion in a way, though its completely different. There are people who say they can sense fear, and I think what ever it is they can sense is more based on slight physical signs.

I read an article somewhere about dogs are more likely to approach you if you are crying. Most of them show body language of submissive in front of a crying person. What exactly was going through their head is unknown.

@ Fishbone,
Do you mean for example when someone face a snake in close range, the snake will strike or retreat depend on if the person show fear or not?

(06-28-2012 08:06 PM)Admin Wrote:  @ Fishbone,
Do you mean for example when someone face a snake in close range, the snake will strike or retreat depend on if the person show fear or not?

Not necessarily. Because most snakes are not naturally aggressive. They are not waiting, trying to sense fear, hoping to strike But, if you have a nervous snake, who is still uncomfortable around people, if you reach in to pick him up calmly, smoothly, without fear, you well get a different reaction than if you reach in, with any kind of jerky, shaky motion. If that makes sense.

(06-29-2012 02:18 AM)Fishbone Wrote:  Not necessarily. Because most snakes are not naturally aggressive. They are not waiting, trying to sense fear, hoping to strike But, if you have a nervous snake, who is still uncomfortable around people, if you reach in to pick him up calmly, smoothly, without fear, you well get a different reaction than if you reach in, with any kind of jerky, shaky motion. If that makes sense.

Maybe rather than sense how you feel about it, the snakes simply don't like to be shaky.
I have heard people could "destroy" a snake by shake it really hard, so its bones can be damaged. Jerky, shaky movements pose a threat to them I guess.

Absolutely. But they can sense it even if it's not noticeable to the human eye. I've seen it more times than I can count.

I don't know about most animals, but I believe that dogs can read human emotions. I've experience it with my dogs. They seem to have a high capacity for empathy.

I think they can sense things that we don't pick up on. For instance, they can read our body language, the scents we put off out, the tone of our voice, the way we express ourselves. While they might not know our exact words, they are adept at interpreting those signs far better than we are.

I know when I was going through grief when my Dad died, my upsetting emotions upset my dog. I couldn't figure out why she had become so unruly. Then, it dawned on me that I was like a walking emotional time bomb and she was reacting to the energy that I was exuding. My emotional upheaval had a negative impact on her well being. So much so that she became a nervous, anxious, fearful dog. We were like two peas in a pod. Once I was aware of what was going on, I was able to help her through it. I don't know if she understood that it was grief, but she knew that something was not right with the pack and she reflected that.

I remember another incident involving my Lab. I was going through a terrible time with my arthritis and I was in pain a lot. She somehow knew my bad days. She would be very gentle around me. When she would come up on the bed to sit with me, she'd do it carefully. Then, she would lay her head on my leg very lightly as if she knew that I hurt. I always thought it amazing how she could read me.

My bird, Buzzy, can absolutely sense my emotions, as did my late kitty, Jasper. Whenever I was upset about anything, Jasper would be in my lap purring and snuggling. When Jasper crossed the bridge, Buzzy pretty much lived on my shoulder for a few days (that's unusual for him. He does like shoulder time, but normally he's had enough after an hour or so). For a happier example, Buzzy has a whistle that sounds almost exactly like somebody shouting "Whoo hoo!" I recently got a new job, and was of course in a great mood after I got the phone call. Buzzy did his "Whoo hoo!" and whistled happily for the next several hours.

Congrats on your new job, jenb!!! A big "whoo hoo" from me to you! :-)

Yes, my cats are sensitive to my moods, to varying degrees. The most sensitive cat was my 1st cat, a gorgeous DSH tabby, that I still miss terribly, seven years after his death. He had the most expressive face and would come to me immediately with a worried frown and big, expressive eyes whenever I was upset. He'd cry and either stroke my knee from his position on the floor, or he'd get on my lap, facing me and rub along me, trying to "make it better." My calico (also dead) was very sensitive too, but not to the degree of the 1st cat. As for the 3 current cats, the Bengal is the least caring. The DSH and the Tonk are concerned if they hear me crying. Still, no one is like my first cat, Cheetah. He & I were soul mates with an incredible, otherworldly connection!!!

Pets can feel humans feelings. Well,different pets have different reactions to humans feelings. Once i saw a person scaring a dog,who dared not raise its head and felt fear. I heard that the dog did something wrong like pee on its owner's bed. And the owner vituperated the dog with a angry expression. I guess the dog understood what its owner felt because afterward it never pee on person's beds.

My cat can definitely sense my emotions. She is often very aloof, but the several times she's seen me cry, she actually approaches and will rub against me and sometimes even lick me. It seems like she knows when I need her to be loving, because when I'm acting normal, she'll usually act annoyed when I pet her, but if I'm sad, she encourages it, pushes her head against my hand to make me keep going. (: I think that the fact that animals can't speak makes them even more receptive to raw emotion, because it does not take language to understand.

I agree with the majority here - yes, pets can read our emotions. My animals always seem to know when I am upset, or when something is bothering me. Sometimes, they will even be on-edge in that type of situation. So, I really don't doubt that animals can read our emotions. That's just my opinion though.

I believe 100% that pets feel your emotions! I have a pup named Kotton that has been through 2 break ups with me and she always seemed to be right by my side licking my tears, and yet she knew when to just leave me alone. Even now she gets extra cuddly when I am feeling down and always has extra kisses when I need them.

I believe they feel the stress and anger too though. When I am stressed or scared or angry, Kotton always reacts according to my mood and she becomes stressed or scared and hides when I am angry.

Yes, they definitely can sense what's going on in your life. Our Border Collie Patch knew when I was angry with him, and he had a funny trick of going to hide under the table. Problem was, it was a glass topped table, and we could see him 'hiding!' that used to make me laugh, and forget why I was angry, and as soon as he saw me laugh or smile, he'd come out for a cuddle.

Patch was everybody's friend, but there was one particular acquaintance I took an instinctive dislike to. Although I was always polite to this person. Patch must have sensed something in my demeanour, because he wouldn't go near him, and if he tried to stroke the dog, Patch would back away and growl.

I believe pets can sense our emotional state. My cat seems to know when I'm unhappy or in pain and tries to comfort me. She usually snuggles near my head and tried to groom my forehead. She even has gone to get other family members and led them to my room, wanting them to check on me.

She also is bossy and went it gets to be getting into the week hours of the morning, she is relentless in her complaints to get me to go to bed.

It does not surprise me that no one voted "no" on this poll.

Every cat and dog I've ever owned has been able to read my and my families emotions. When they see me crying, they will come over and snuggle with me more than usual. My cats will put their paw on my hand and my dogs will rest their little faces on my lap or arm and look up at me as if to say, "Don't cry, mommy. I'll make it all better." It always helps to pick me up.

And I've never had a dog that didn't feel my happiness when I talk excitedly to someone in a room about something great that just happened to me. When I do this with Gigi in the room, her tail starts wagging and she looks around all excited for one of her toys to go grab and bring to me. I guess she associates my happiness with me wanting to play with her.

I firmly believe that animals can sense their masters emotions, especially when they are upset. I remember one of our dogs that we had at the time of my father's death name Rocky. My mother was sitting in a chair in the living room crying, and he went over to put his head on her knee as if to comfort her. Then I had a personal situation with the dog we acquired after Rocky by the name of Oso. I was in the room with him and he was lying on the floor, I was upset and crying over something that had just happened. He jumped up and started to lick my face as if to tell me everything was going to be all right.

I wholeheartedly believe my dog can sense our emotions. We've had a bad cold go through our house the past week. We noticed our dog will lay next to whoever is feeling the worst at the time. Last night it was my 19 year old daughter. She was sitting in the recliner next to me telling me how terribly sick she felt. Next thing we knew, he jumped up and sat in the chair next to her. He looked at her and licked her face, then snuggled down with her under her blanket. It not only looked sweet, but he made her feel so much better.

I feel that without a doubt that pets can read human emotions. I have always noticed how my cat tends to sit or brush it's tail against me more when I a, mot feeling my best. There is a saying "the pet will sit on the spot that hurts the most". Therefore I think that pets have that special ability to feel human emotion. They are very caring animals with big hearts and it is shown each time to how they act aroung their owners. I love my cat very much and she is definitely a part of me and my family because she is always there for me when I am going through difficult times.

I agree that dogs most definitely do understand human emotions. I think some other types of pet might also know if you were in a bad mood, or if you were feeling exceptionally happy.

I think small mammals would be less responsive to human moods than a dog, cat or parrot. A companion animal will bond with its owner and so will be more sensitive to emotions, but a small rodent or a small bird would probably not have any perception.

It is probably natural for many types of animal to sense fear, hostility or friendliess in other species as well as their own kind.

I definitely think my dogs can read my emotions. They'll come and comfort me when I'm sad and they're always happy and excited when I'm in a good mood. I'm not so sure about other species. My cats sometimes seem to be in tune with my emotions but other times not, sometimes they're really quite annoying when I'm not in the mood but they won't take no for an answer. They seem to know when I'm trying to do something though, that's when they want my attention!

I have always believed that animals can sense our emotions on a level deeper than we might give them credit for. Dogs more readily accept emotions from us when they do something bad and we are mad at them. They hang their heads or roll their eyes as if admitting the wrong and asking us to please forgive them. In the same respect if I was upset or scared or crying, my dogs would try to comfort me by snuggling in close or trying to lick my face or hands.

Dogs seem to know when we fear them and will often avoid a person who is afraid or is doing something that causes the dog to be fearful of that person. I have had dogs who acted bravely in emergencies and would bark to alert their owners as in the case of fires.
Do you remember that news video on youtube that showed where two dogs had been on a highway and one dog got hit by a car and the other dog refused to leave it's side.

This truely shows dogs have compassion for other dogs, as well as, their owners. And perhapes that is what gave them the title of "Man's Best Friend."

I can say without any doubt that our cat definitely reads what's going on with all of us. Not just emotions either... she can tell when one of us isn't feeling well and she'll come lie down by the bed or sofa or sometimes climbs right up there with us. :-) I think she's more tuned into my daughter than the rest of us but that may be my imagination. And then there's this "look" she gives me when she knows I'm upset or sad about something... it's like she knows exactly what's going on. Sometimes it's comforting and sometimes it's more unnerving!

When I was having a really, really rough time once my parrot went silent while I cried. Then, when I stopped, he started saying very quietly: hello? As though checking on me. Also my dog sleeps with me when I'm anxious, although he used to sleep with my mother. So, yeah