Text From Dog Analysis

One particular internet trend in the last few years, Texts From Dog, humorously captures the relationship between a human and their dog, as well as the imagined inner workings of the lovable furball’s mind. Much like the character Doug, in the Pixar film Up, the dog/dogs of Text From Dog is easily excited, if not a little feistier. The comical adventures chronicled in the Texts From Dog series range from every day delights, like being fed, to the woes of having to wear a cone or finding out that their owner is cheating on them and has been petting other dogs. While entirely fictional solely for entertainment purposes, Texts From Dog helps to illustrate that the bond between a pet and it’s owner is something special. For a pet owner, there are

few feelings in life more rewarding than finding their pet waiting to greet them at the door after a long day, and for a dog, there’s no better part of their day than seeing their owner walk through that door once again.

Dogs are capable of feeling complex emotions beyond those of instinct, especially when they develop relationships with humans.

In order to distinguish between instinct and emotion, a few definitions are presented below. Instinct is described as “a way of behaving, thinking, or feeling that is not learned: a natural desire or tendency that makes you want to act in a particular way” (Merriam-Webster). The two best known instincts across different species are the entitled motherly instinct and the fight-or-flight instinct. These two instincts are found in animals such as primates, dogs, tigers, and even humans. To better explain the concept of an instance, the stimulus for the maternal instinct is interacting with some sort of an offspring, while the stimulus of the fight-or-flight response would

be confrontation or a feeling of fear. The maternal instinct is a natural need for women to take care of an infant, even if the child is not her own. There are many instances where animals will take care of an offspring from another species entirely. Koko the gorilla and her pet kitten All Ball are a prime example of this. Koko took care of All Ball by playing with her, and held her with the greatest of care. While there are no examples of dogs as well known as Koko taking care of another species child, there are many articles online illustrating the same unlearned behaviors. These behaviors are simply a part of the animal’s nature. On the other hand, emotion is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a strong feeling (such as love, anger, joy, hate, or fear).” While an instinct is a specific behavior that is continually and uncontrollably spurred to life in reaction to a situation, an emotion is just a way of feeling, essentially an emotional state of mind. An emotion can potentially inspire action, but the response to each emotion is usually more thought through and relative to the situation.
It is no surprise when a dog is seen getting antsy because his owner is giving another dog some attention.

During a study examining jealousy in domestic dogs, it was found that when presented with a situation designed to inspire jealousy in which their owner gave another (stuffed, to maximize their control in the situation) dog, among various other objects, a bit of attention, 36% of the dogs exhibited aggressive behavior by snapping at the object (Harris, Prouvost 4). The discussion of the results addressed the issue that they used a stuffed dog in the study instead of the real thing, but added that “86% of the dogs sniffed the anal region of the toy dog during the experiment or post-experiment phases,” leading them to believe that the fake dog was realistic enough to fool the test subjects. The study shows that even dogs whose owners believed they would not exhibit aggressive behavior did, which raises the question of whether or not jealousy has a primordial form that is existent in dogs and infants. Dogs have been known to be territorial, which could very easily be mistaken for jealousy, but in the study done, dogs would also try to gain their owner’s attention by pushing or nudging the owner or placing themselves in between the owner and the object. This far less aggressive behavior could be an indicator of the feeling being less territorial and more closely related to a feeling of

jealousy.
Looking at separation anxiety in dogs can be used to understand better whether or not they have emotions. In a study done by Emanuela Prato-Previde where dogs were put in a position much like that of Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation study, it was shown that:
“the dogs accepted to play with the stranger more in the presence of their owner than during his or her absence. They also explored more in the presence of their owner, but this appeared to be due to diminishing curiosity over time rather than a secure base effect. The dogs also exhibited a range of attachment behaviours, i.e. search and proximity seeking behaviours when separated from their owner, including following, scratching and jumping up on the door, remaining oriented to the door or the owner’s empty chair and vocalising. They also greeted their owner more enthusiastically and for longer durations compared to the stranger. Finally, they contacted the owner’s clothing more often and for longer durations compared to the stranger’s clothing and spent more time next to the owner’s chair when the owner’s objects were present.”
This behavior is comparable to that of the human infants in Mary Ainsworth’s study.
The relationship between a human and a dog is symbiotic. Both parties benefit from each other’s presence. Excluding cases of abuse, a pet dog is cared for, fed, and groomed, aiding the dog in survival. There isn’t a single way in which the dog positively affect’s their human counterpart. Dogs, by becoming a companion to their owner, have been shown to benefit humans mentally as well as physiologically. Through multiple studies, such as that of Karen Allen in 2003 and that of Anderson (et al) in 1992, it has been found that “dog interactions lead to physical and physiological reactions such as a release of feel-good hormones (e.g., serotonin), a reduction in physiological indicators of stress (e.g., high blood pressure) . . . and fewer minor health problems and physician visits.” (Knight, Edwards). For these reasons dogs are often used as therapy animals to help patients with depression or PTSD. The prolonged relationship between dogs and humans have evolved to the point that our pets have become intensely aware of human behavior and emotion, just as we have theirs. In a study published in 2014, it was found that dogs, based on a study of looking patterns, showed similarities to infants learning to recognize actions as goal-oriented (Marshall-Pescini, et al). As a milestone for a human infant, for a dog, it should be treated as the same. A mutual respect with the animal
On the flip side, humans have come to value animals enough to where they are given family roles, personalities, and are even sometimes treated like a child. For example, a dog who grumbles at his owner’s requests would be deemed “sassy” or fierce.” Some owners will celebrate their dog’s birthday with a special meal or presents. The personification is to the point now that there is a personality test for dogs. Dognition.com was started to help further scientific research using citizen science. Kristin Van Ogtrop, an author, gave her dog the personality test from the Dognition website and chronicled her experience in an article called ‘In Which I Give My Dog a Personality Quiz and Learn a Lot About … Myself.’ She jokes in her article that she had sunk to a new level of online quizzing—one in which she pays to take an online test for her dog. In the test the dog is put through a series of trials. The trials determine which one of nine possible personalities each dog falls into. The quiz can give the pet owner a look into which sorts of behavioral issues the owner should look for based on the dog’s personality, but also shows that while dogs are a species apart from our own, there are often similarities. In 2004, Psychologist Samuel D. Gosling of The University of Texas at Austin performed a study in which the owner, a trusted friend, as well as three complete strangers after observation would rate the owner and the dog’s personalities. Between each rating surprisingly little changed. During the studies it was also found that dogs shared many of the same traits as their owners. This is important because it’s possible that based on the dog’s personality it could react to things in an emotionally similar way to that of their owner. Using the assumption that dogs are comparable to their owners, an overly energetic man would have an overly energetic dog. On a rainy day both the dog and his owner would most likely be disappointed that it’s raining and anxious to get out of the house so that they can go do something.