Dogs are highly sensitive and emotional creatures. When abused, whether through physical violence, neglect, or other forms of maltreatment, dogs undergo immense psychological and emotional suffering. Understanding how dogs feel when abused can help spread awareness about this critical animal welfare issue.
Do dogs have emotions?
Yes, dogs absolutely experience a complex range of emotions. Extensive research shows dogs feel basic emotions like happiness, sadness, fear, anxiety, frustration, and anger. Dogs also feel complex social emotions like jealousy, empathy, grief, guilt, pride, shame, and loneliness.
Dogs have the same neurotransmitters and hormones that produce emotions in humans, like dopamine, oxytocin, and cortisol. Brain imaging studies reveal dogs experience emotions in similar parts of the brain as humans.
Dogs communicate their emotional states through facial expressions, body language, and vocalizations. For example, a dog feeling happy will have a relaxed open mouth, loose body posture, and enthusiastic tail wagging. A fearful dog may cower, tuck its tail, hide, or tremble.
Do dogs have feelings?
Yes, dogs have feelings. Feelings are mental associations and reactions to emotions. Feelings can be positive or negative and influence a dog’s perceptions and behaviors.
For example, a dog may feel happy when its owner comes home. It may feel anxious during loud noises like thunderstorms or fireworks. A dog may feel safe and secure in its bed or when with trusted humans. It may feel affection for its human family members.
A dog’s feelings can be observed through behaviors that demonstrate its mental state. If a dog feels anxious, it may pace, pant excessively, hide, or try to escape the situation causing the anxiety.
Can dogs suffer psychologically?
There is extensive scientific evidence that dogs can and do suffer psychologically and emotionally under abusive conditions. Psychology research has proven dogs experience phenomena like:
- Fear and anxiety
- Stress and distress
- Depression
- Learned helplessness
- Trauma and PTSD
- Grief
Dogs abused as puppies often develop lasting personalities problems as adults, including heightened fearfulness, aggression, separation anxiety, and compulsive behaviors.
Chronic stress in dogs causes elevated cortisol levels, which damages physical and mental health over time. Dogs denied socialization and confined in abusive environments commonly develop psychological issues.
How do dogs act when abused?
Dogs subjected to abuse often develop behavioral issues and problems. Some common signs a dog is being abused or has a history of abuse include:
- Fearful body language like cowering, hiding, trembling, tail tucking
- Urinating or defecating submissively
- Aggression or reactivity toward humans or other animals
- Separation anxiety
- Depression or lethargy
- Compulsive behaviors like repetitive pacing or spinning
- Damage or scarring on the body from physical abuse
However, not all abused dogs will exhibit problematic behaviors. Some abused dogs become exceptionally people-pleasing and docile. Others simply shut down emotionally.
Do dogs feel pain?
Yes, dogs absolutely feel physical pain, similar to humans. Dogs have pain receptors throughout their bodies and specialized nerves that transmit pain signals to the brain.
Brain imaging confirms that dogs experience pain in a neurologically similar way as people. Dogs also exhibit typical pain behaviors when injured, like whining, limping, licking or biting wounds, guarding injuries, and seeking safety.
Research demonstrates that like humans, dogs find pain unpleasant and will avoid situations that cause pain. This is why physically abused dogs often cower, freeze, or flee from abusive humans.
Do dogs feel hurt emotionally?
There is strong scientific consensus that dogs also feel emotional forms of hurt. Emotional hurt refers to mental anguish, sorrow, and psychological damage from abuse, neglect, loss, or other trauma.
For example, studies show that dogs grieve when separated from loved ones. MRI scans reveal dogs’ brains process emotions in an area linked to feelings of reward and separation anxiety.
When treated cruelly, evidence indicates dogs feel several negative emotions associated with emotional hurt, like sadness, confusion, fear, anxiety, helplessness, anger, and distrust.
What emotions do abused dogs feel?
Abused dogs often endure immense emotional suffering and psychological damage. Some common feelings and emotions abused dogs experience include:
- Fear – of humans, other animals, environments, objects
- Anxiety and distress – from mistreatment and unpredictable conditions
- Pain – from physical abuse like beatings or mutilation
- Loneliness – from isolation and lack of companionship
- Sadness and depression – from neglect and traumatic losses
- Anger – from involuntary mistreatment and pain
- Learned helplessness – from inability to escape abuse
These negative emotions can overwhelm an abused dog’s mental health and become severely problematic if the mistreatment continues.
Do dogs feel betrayed when abused by their owners?
Yes, dogs can feel betrayed when abused by their owners and guardians. Because dogs form strong social bonds and attachments to their human families, they expect care, not cruelty, from their owners.
When owners violate this trust through physical harm, neglect, or other mistreatment, dogs likely feel confusion, fear, anger, sadness, and betrayal at the inexplicable cruelty from their supposed caretaker and companion.
The betrayal of abuse from a guardian can damage dogs’ ability to trust humans long after the abuse stops. Some abused dogs remain anxious and wary around all people due to this betrayed trust.
What are signs of abuse in dogs?
Some common signs that may indicate a dog is being abused include:
- Aggressive behaviors like lunging, growling, snapping
- Fearful behaviors like cowering, hiding, trembling, urinating submissively
- Apathy, lethargy, or depression
- Pacing or repetitive behaviors
- Wounds, burns, or other injuries on the body
- Limping, difficulty moving or sitting
- Malnutrition or emaciation
- Being primarily kept tied up, crated, or confined
However, some abused dogs show no obvious problematic behaviors. Paying attention to a dog’s living conditions and any suspicious wounds or injuries is important.
What are the long-term effects of abuse on dogs?
Dogs subjected to long-term abuse and mistreatment often develop lasting psychological and behavioral problems that continue even if their life circumstances improve. Some common long-term effects of abuse in dogs include:
- Increased fear, anxiety, hypervigilance
- Aggression issues
- Difficulty trusting humans
- Separation anxiety and clinginess
- Learned helplessness and depression
- Compulsive or repetitive behaviors
- Chronic stress and related health issues
- Shortened lifespans
With dedicated training, behavior modification, socialization, medication, and support, abused dogs can overcome many of these issues, but the psychological scars may remain throughout their lives.
How can you tell if a dog came from an abusive home?
Some signs a newly adopted dog may have come from an abusive home include:
- Extreme fear around humans or in particular environments/situations
- Showing little reaction or shutdown behavior when faced with typically frightening stimuli
- Submissive urination
- Cowering frequently or when approached/reached for
- Aggression around food, toys, resting areas, or when handled
- Shutting down and showing apathy when yelled at or confronted
- Scars or other lasting injuries
A dog may have been abused even without overt behavioral signs, so adopting a gentle, patient approach helps build trust. Animal shelters often have background on abused dogs’ histories.
How can you help an abused dog recover psychologically?
Some ways to help an abused dog recover psychologically include:
- Providing a safe, comfortable living environment free of punishment
- Establishing a predictable daily routine
- Using positive reinforcement training to build confidence and trust
- Gradually socializing the dog to new people, places, and stimuli
- Consulting with veterinary behaviorists for medication if needed
- Being patient – recovery takes time and abused dogs may never fully “get over” trauma
Additionally, showering the dog with gentle love and physical affection can help compensate for its past mistreatment and teach it to feel safe bonding with humans again.
Conclusion
Dogs are intelligent, emotional creatures vulnerable to profound psychological damage when abused by humans. Mistreated dogs undergo immense fear, pain, stress, and feelings of betrayal that can scar them throughout life.
Recognizing dogs’ capacity to suffer emotionally enables greater empathy for their wellbeing. Spreading public awareness about dog psychology helps prevent abuse and encourages more compassion toward man’s best friend.