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Original poster

Dogs can't show emotion.

32 replies

TitaniasAss · 25/02/2023 15:27

Apparently. Said to me by a work colleague yesterday. Never heard such a loaf of utter shite in my whole life and neither has my dog.

What's the most ridiculous thing (in your opinion) that anyone has said to you?

OP posts:
SinnerBoy · 25/02/2023 15:52

Someone said that dogs can't look up. I thought he was joking, but he was deadly serious. Apparently, it's from a film and he swallowed it, the eejit.

BiteyShark · 25/02/2023 15:58

I would have laughed out loud at him.

Clearly they have never owned or had a bond with a dog (pity them).

HoundHound · 25/02/2023 15:59

I think it's pigs who can't look up? 🤔

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Dogs
GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 25/02/2023 15:59

Absolute rubbish.

Must have been said by some twat who’d never had one.

I well remember one of ours going nearly mad with excitement when we returned from holiday - charging back and forth at top speed with his woofs almost off the scale - he just couldn’t express fast enough, how happy he was to see us.

Purplecatshopaholic · 25/02/2023 15:59

A work colleague without a dog, clearly..

CarPoor · 25/02/2023 16:00

Has he ever seen a dog?

SinnerBoy · 25/02/2023 16:02

BiteyShark · Today 15:58

I would have laughed out loud at him.

I think that my eyes were wide, my jaw was definitely about as low as it can go!

2bazookas · 25/02/2023 16:24

My dog is laughing at your work colleague.

Heartsandbirds · 25/02/2023 16:25

Someone once told me horses aren’t affectionate. Strangely enough she ran a horse rescue centre - we talked about it at the time and agreed she probably dealt only with traumatised horses/ponies and didn’t have time to form a bond with them.

NoShitHemlock · 25/02/2023 16:26

Someone once told me that dogs can't walk backwards. Obviously they have never witnessed a Yorkie backing his arse up to fit into the smallest gap ever beside you on the sofa. Or doing the "not me mum" backwards walk out of the kitchen when he has a mouthful of something he isn't supposed to have that fell on the floor!

Stellaris22 · 25/02/2023 16:26

Domestic dogs evolved special eyebrow muscles to display emotion. Wolves don't have this.

Justleaveitblankthen · 25/02/2023 16:35

NoShitHemlock · 25/02/2023 16:26

Someone once told me that dogs can't walk backwards. Obviously they have never witnessed a Yorkie backing his arse up to fit into the smallest gap ever beside you on the sofa. Or doing the "not me mum" backwards walk out of the kitchen when he has a mouthful of something he isn't supposed to have that fell on the floor!

My dog reverses out of the kitchen door (as I am exiting with plates of food) 20 times a day.
He even reverses his way back upstairs when he realises I am coming back up there after all 😂

SpringIntoChaos · 25/02/2023 17:01

Haha I wish someone had told my mad hound this, every time I picked her up from the kennels after a holiday! Her complete and UTTER joy at seeing me again literally floored me! She weighed 75kg and I had to brace myself for her onslaught, as she tried to leap into my arms and cover me in stinky doggy kisses, whimpering so mentally that they could hear her a mile away!

Oh...and I always had to wear wellies when picking her up...she was that excited she lost all sense of 'lady decorum' and peed on my feet as she leapt into my arms 🤣🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️😍

BiteyShark · 25/02/2023 17:04

I often say to DH how dogs can't hide their emotions as it's so obvious how they are feeling.

YouJustDoYou · 25/02/2023 17:06

Lol. Tell that to my little old guy (he lived 20 years). Best friend I ever had in my life. He's been gone almost a decade now and I still have dreams about him.

verdantverdure · 25/02/2023 17:11

Your work colleague is an idiot who has never even met a dog, apparently @TitaniasAss

WetBandits · 25/02/2023 17:12

SinnerBoy · 25/02/2023 15:52

Someone said that dogs can't look up. I thought he was joking, but he was deadly serious. Apparently, it's from a film and he swallowed it, the eejit.

It’s from Shaun of the Dead 😂

mbosnz · 25/02/2023 17:16

Heh heh. I work at a vets. Believe me, dogs can certainly express emotions. Fear, anger, sadness, I'm too dumb to figure out just how shit my day is going to be. . .

IntentionalError · 25/02/2023 17:25

It’s astonishing that people can believe such utter nonsense. Dogs are among the most emotionally expressive of all animals. That’s how they bond & communicate in their packs, both canine and human, and we have accentuated this expressiveness through countless generations of selective breeding.

vodkaredbullgirl · 25/02/2023 17:32

My dog's are hurt by that comment.

Fundays12 · 25/02/2023 17:34

I am not a dog owner and never have been but even I know that's rubbish. My friends dog deemed delighted to see me last week as I hadn't seen her in a while and her puppy was excited to meet me. The emotions were pretty obvious as her older dog was happy when i arrived.

Obviously a bit different but my cats always come to greet me in the morning, the kitten runs to get cuddles from my 11 year old when he gets home from school and my cat I had as a child used to walk to meet me of the school bus every day when I started secondary and get picked up, cuddled and carried home.

Original poster
TitaniasAss · 25/02/2023 17:41

BiteyShark · 25/02/2023 15:58

I would have laughed out loud at him.

Clearly they have never owned or had a bond with a dog (pity them).

Oh I did! 🤣

OP posts:
Surplus2requirements · 25/02/2023 17:46

Fundays12 · 25/02/2023 17:34

I am not a dog owner and never have been but even I know that's rubbish. My friends dog deemed delighted to see me last week as I hadn't seen her in a while and her puppy was excited to meet me. The emotions were pretty obvious as her older dog was happy when i arrived.

Obviously a bit different but my cats always come to greet me in the morning, the kitten runs to get cuddles from my 11 year old when he gets home from school and my cat I had as a child used to walk to meet me of the school bus every day when I started secondary and get picked up, cuddled and carried home.

I've always found cats to be very adept at showing utter disdain 😅

Rebel2 · 25/02/2023 17:48

Yeah someone said to me that cats don't express emotion or show love
I have numerous photos of my cat gazing adoringly at me!

EarringsandLipstick · 25/02/2023 17:53

Hmmm.

Of course animals can have moods. Feelings, emotions - less clear - this link amp.theguardian.com/books/2022/aug/29/the-big-idea-do-animals-have-emotions covers it well.

Mostly it's due to our human interpretation of the animal's reactions, rather than it being inherently true

(Absolutely get the cat & dog-lover's perspectives here though)