Opinion: Do Animals have (Emotional) Feelings? Do You Treat Them as if They Do?

There are two types of people: those who believe that animals have feelings, and those who don’t.
There are also two types of other people: Those who treat animals as if they have feelings, and those who don’t. What I will say about those who don’t, the reason could be one of two things: They don’t know any better, or they haven’t themselves been acknowledged as someone who has feelings.

The first thing I’ll ask, is how do you treat your pet? Are they a part of the family, or are they only there to serve a duty – i.e. guard the yard, protect owners, catch mice, breed, etc.
I know that this question will make some people cringe a bit and perhaps even feel a little uncomfortable – but it needs to be asked, because at the end of the day, you as the owner needs to be honest with yourself and acknowledge how you treat your animals.

The next question I’m going to ask – is that did you get a pet to only serve a particular duty, i.e. guard the yard, protect the owners, etc.
Criminals love poisoning dogs – so allow your dogs to sleep inside. Your dogs aren’t just there to protect/guard your valuable items.
And to be clear – just because you spoil your dog with good food (perhaps even human food), doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily treating them as if they’re family.

Here’s some more questions:
Do you give your pet attention? Do you acknowledge them or ignore them? If you have a dog, do you take them out for exercise on a regular basis? Do you treat them with kindness, and don’t punish them longer than necessary if they have misbehaved?
Do you allow them to show you affection (in their own way), or is that a boundary you put up? Do you perhaps have some false beliefs on how to treat your animals – i.e. pack/dominance mentality to show who is boss, etc.
Are there cycles that you need to break with how your own (immediate) family treated animals when you were growing up? If you have kids, do you emulate to your kids how to treat animals properly?

Animals have so much love to give, and they do it without expecting anything back. The least that you can do as an owner is to treat your animals as if they’re family, and to not treat them as if they’re there just when it’s convenient for you.

Here’s a last thought:
Do you treat your animals the way you would want to be treated? Don’t treat animals as if they don’t have feelings just because they aren’t human beings – and this isn’t just for abuse reasons – would you want to be treated as a human being with feelings? Or as someone with no feelings? If you want to be treated as someone with feelings – treat your animal as if they have feelings too.

As always, please always practice responsible pet ownership.

Blog Post By Your Pet Caring Friend,
Carmen Harris.