Leonie St Clair|www.londonsogstraining.co.uk
Dogs are experts at the love and devotion ‘game’ and they come fully equipped with behaviours and body signals guaranteed to get our love and bonding hormones ignited. But there is a flip side; it seems dogs may also be susceptible to attacks of the ‘green-eyed monster.’ Darwin thought dogs could feel jealousy/envy but until quite recently this was rejected in animal behaviour circles as just another example of lazy, anthropomorphism. Yet, over the years, numerous clients have insisted their dog is intensely jealous of the new cat, of the arrival of a new grandchild, even of the telephone!
Owners have reported that their dog, in the throes of a fit of ‘jealousy,’ appears to sulk, removing itself from the owner’s side, flopping down and becoming unresponsive. Other dogs insinuate themselves, nose first, politely but firmly, between their owner and the perceived object of their owner’s attention. I heard of one grabbing and running off with a phone. Some pets leap around emitting high-pitched squeals and barks; others are more cunning in their attempts to regain the spotlight – my own tried sabotaging the odd catch-up with a friend by stealing a shoe, jumping onto the ‘forbidden’ sofa, and eyeing me defiantly. if I reacted, it was ‘bingo,’ job done.
We owners have always suspected some dogs could get attacks of the green-eyed monster but now there is growing evidence to suggest dogs may experience emotions akin to
jealousy or envy.
As highly social animals, dogs seem especially sensitive to attention and reward given to other dogs and some appear to ‘measure’ what other dogs get, just as a toddler might notice when another child gets more sweeties or more praise. Several studies have used stuffed, fake dogs to demonstrate this. When the owner has paid too much attention to the toy, ignoring their pet, their dog has reacted with a raised tail, signalling heightened emotional arousal, or by nudging, pawing, and nose-prodding their owner. Some went further, growling and snapping at the ‘stuffie.’
Many of us have experienced cracking out our dog’s favourite treats for recall training in the park, only for our pooch to get very tetchy when the local Labrador tries to get in on the action. But it is more subtle than pure resource guarding. In a study from the University of Vienna, dogs were positioned in pairs. Before the test, each dog was taught to ‘shake hands’ by extending and putting a paw onto a person’s hand. In the testing phase, all the dogs ‘shook hands’ on cue with the ‘tester,’ but only half of each pair was rewarded each time. Eventually, the unrewarded dogs refused to cooperate. They also looked much more at the rewarded, partner dog and exhibited greater signs of stress.
This scenario is easily explained as competitive, frustrated behaviour. However, the second testing phase removed the rewarded, partner dogs. Now when the unrewarded dogs were cued to ‘shake hands,’ this time solo, without the presence of a ‘rival,’ each continued to present a paw without issue. It seems comparison with the rewarded, partner dog and a sense of ‘fairness’ was the root cause of heightened, negative emotions.
Another study found that if dogs perceived their owners were giving attention to a hidden ‘rival,’ they would react with the same intensity as when they could see the interaction. This explains why scientists are so interested in the idea of canine jealousy. In humans, it is thought that jealousy is closely linked with self-awareness; it is mind-blowing to think the same might apply to dogs.