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Originally Posted by MI Yorkielover  I agree with much Gontygirl says. Especially the NO BARK. It has worked well for Sophie. We only raise our voice with this one command so she knows we mean it. Unfortunately I used "the tone" once while our one year old granddaughter was here and it really scared her. Now we are somewhat hostages with our tone while she is visiting  .
I have to somewhat disagree however with your logic regarding our Sophie's "feelings". I swear she has them  . I have seen her slink under the bed when she seems to have hurt feeling or when seemly embarrassed. She often reacts to certain situations as a young child would. Maybe I am projecting and maybe it makes no sense at all but my intuition tells me she feels more than one may think. |
No you are not projecting it...
New research suggests that social animals such as dogs and cats can choose whether to be good or bad.
Scientists have often debated whether pets such as cats snuggle up to their owners because they are showing genuine emotion towards them or if their behaviour is driven purely to elicit food and attention. Researcher and author Mark Rowlands believes that animals are indeed capable of a sense of morality, can exhibit genuine emotion and are able to make a conscious decision on how to behave.
"Animals are owed a certain kind of respect that they wouldn't be owed if they couldn't act morally," said Rowlands. "I think what's at the heart of following morality is the emotions. Evidence suggests that animals can act on those sorts of emotions."
The book, "Can Animals Be Moral?" (Oxford University Press, October 2012), suggests social mammals such as rats, dogs and chimpanzees can choose to be good or bad.