Introduction
Many dog owners swear that their furry friends hold grudges after being scolded or punished. We’ve all seen those guilty looks and standoffish behavior after an incident that leads the owner to believe their dog is holding something against them. While it may seem like common sense that dogs would get angry and resent us after we do something to upset them, is this actually what’s happening from a scientific perspective? In this article, we will explore the science behind dogs’ capacity for emotions like grudges and resentment to better understand our canine companions.
Defining Grudges
Psychologically speaking, holding a grudge means maintaining feelings of resentment, bitterness, anger or hurt toward someone over a long period of time after they have done something to upset or harm you (https://psychcentral.com/relationships/why-we-hold-grudges-and-what-to-do-when-someone-has-a-grudge-against-you). It involves rumination and obsessive thoughts about the transgression, a desire for revenge or to see the other person suffer, and an inability to move past the emotional pain even when it is clearly no longer serving you.
This is contrasted with simply avoiding someone who has caused you pain or upset you. Avoidance may be an appropriate short-term strategy to protect yourself emotionally or physically from further harm. But holding a grudge keeps the pain alive long after and interferes with a person’s ability to heal and move forward. Grudge holding feeds negative emotions rather than processes them in a healthy way.
Dogs’ Emotional Capacity
Recent scientific research indicates dogs have a more complex emotional life than previously thought. Dogs demonstrate basic emotions like happiness, fear and anxiety. Studies also reveal they experience secondary emotions like jealousy, empathy and loneliness [1]. However, current evidence does not support dogs experiencing complex emotions like spite that require higher cognitive processes and abstract thinking.
Dogs display primary emotions instinctively, but secondary emotions require more social experience and cognition. Research shows dogs that are raised with affection and in human families develop more complex social skills and emotions. However, dogs do not demonstrate the higher reasoning and thinking required for emotions like spite, suggesting they lack the cognitive ability and abstract thinking these emotions require [2].
In summary, dogs have a rich emotional life with the capacity for basic and some secondary emotions. However, they likely do not experience complex emotions that require abstract thinking like holding grudges or acting out of spite.
Anecdotal Evidence
There are many viral videos and stories depicting dogs who seem to hold grudges against people or animals who have hurt them in some way. One example is a video of a dog who refuses to perform tricks for his owner after she playfully threw his ball onto the roof where he couldn’t reach it (source). The dog seems upset with the owner for taking away his ball. Another story describes a dog who held a grudge against an electric fence that had shocked his goat friend (source). After the incident, the dog refused to go near that side of the fence.
While these anecdotes are intriguing, it’s important to note that controlled scientific studies are still needed to truly determine if dogs can hold grudges. Stories alone are not enough to prove complex emotional concepts like grudge-holding. More research is required to understand if dogs are capable of such emotions.
Scientific Research
Scientific studies have explored dogs’ long-term and episodic memory in an attempt to understand how they remember past experiences. In 2020, a study by C Fugazza et al. trained dogs to re-enact their past actions using mental representations. The results showed that dogs can remember what they did in the past and mentally represent these past experiences to guide current behavior. However, this episodic-like memory differed from human episodic memory in that dogs likely don’t have an autobiographical sense of self over time.
Additional research by Claudia Fugazza published in Science in 2016 demonstrated that dogs have episodic memory for events up to 10 minutes in the past. This short-term memory allowed dogs to predict future outcomes based on past events. However, it’s unclear if dogs can form long-term autobiographical memories of specific experiences like humans can.
While these studies show dogs have memory capabilities, they do not provide evidence that dogs hold grudges or avoid people who previously hurt them. The memories demonstrated were short-term and functional, allowing dogs to repeat rewarded actions and avoid punishments. There was no indication the dogs felt ongoing resentment or an emotional desire for retribution.
Why Dogs Might Avoid
There are some other reasons besides holding “grudges” that might cause a dog to avoid someone who has hurt them in the past. These reasons often relate to fear, conditioning, and self-preservation.
Dogs that have been physically hurt by a person can become fearful of that individual and avoid them in the future. Even if the person gives them food or treats later, the dog may still be wary due to their past negative experiences (source: https://www.quora.com/Why-are-dogs-so-loyal-to-owners-that-mistreat-them). The dog has been conditioned through the abuse to be apprehensive around that person.
Additionally, dogs have self-preservation instincts that motivate them to avoid people who have posed a threat in the past. According to dog behaviorists, dogs may stay away from someone who has yelled at, hit, or otherwise scared them simply as a protective mechanism, not because they are holding a grudge per se (source: https://www.thesprucepets.com/things-dogs-cant-stand-1117467). They have learned that keeping their distance protects them from harm.
Training Considerations
A dog’s training can significantly influence how it behaves after being hurt or mistreated. Studies show that using positive reinforcement leads to better outcomes compared to punishment-based methods. According to research from the National Library of Medicine, dog training based on positive reinforcement principles, such as using rewards for desired behaviors, is associated with better obedience, fewer behavioral issues, and improved human-canine relationships [1].
In contrast, punishment-based training that relies on scolding or physical corrections is linked to increased aggression and anxiety in dogs. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior advises against using confrontation-based methods that can erode trust and damage the human-animal bond [2]. Aversive techniques may suppress unwanted behaviors temporarily but often lead to other issues.
Overall, a dog’s tendency to avoid or act out after being hurt depends heavily on its training history. Positive reinforcement helps build confidence and resilience, whereas frequent punishment can contribute to fearfulness, mistrust, and reactive behaviors. Thoughtful training focused on clear communication, consistency, and rewarding desired actions leads to the best outcomes for dogs and owners alike.
Risks of anthropomorphizing dogs
There are potential risks in assigning human emotions, thoughts, and motivations to dogs without proper scientific evidence. Anthropomorphism is the act of attributing human qualities or behaviors to non-human things like animals, objects and natural phenomena. When it comes to dogs, overly anthropomorphizing them can lead to several issues.
Research has shown that attributing complex emotions like spite, jealousy or holding grudges to dogs without evidence can actually harm dogs. Owners may feel justified in punishing dogs or they may fail to address serious behavioral issues if they believe the dog is acting out of some vengeful motive. This false belief in the dog’s underlying emotional state can damage the human-animal bond and the dog’s welfare.
Anthropomorphism can also lead owners to inadvertently reinforce unwanted behaviors in dogs if they misinterpret the reasons behind the behavior. It’s important we avoid drastic assumptions about a dog’s motivations and instead objectively analyze the context and reinforcement history behind their actions. Relying too much on anthropomorphic explanations takes away from evidence-based training practices.
While it’s understandable to want to relate to our dogs, assuming they have human-level thinking risks misunderstanding them. We must be careful to avoid the trap of toxic anthropomorphism and instead try to understand dog behavior from their perspective. With empathy and evidence-based insights, we can build even better relationships with our canine companions.
Alternate Explanations
While stories of dogs holding grudges against previous owners may seem convincing, the scientific consensus is that dogs are unlikely to actually hold grudges in the same way humans do. This is due to differences in the way dog and human brains process memory and emotion (1).
There are several plausible explanations for avoiding behaviors in dogs that don’t require complex emotions like grudges:
– Dogs have an excellent memory for negative experiences and may avoid people, places, or other dogs associated with past trauma, fear, or pain, without necessarily holding a “grudge” (2). This is an adaptive survival mechanism.
– Some dogs may be anxious or undersocialized, leading to general avoidance of unfamiliar people or environments. This is not directed at any one person.
– Dogs pick up on body language and energy. If a person feels tense or acts uncomfortably around a dog, the dog may mirror and avoid that energy without a specific “grudge.”
– TRAINING CONSIDERATIONS HERE
– RISK OF ANTHROPOMORPHISM HERE
While it may be tempting to ascribe complex emotions to our beloved dogs, the bulk of scientific evidence points to simpler explanations for avoiding behaviors. Their memories are powerful, but unlikely motivated by pettiness or grudges.
(1) https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/animal-emotions/201904/do-dogs-hold-grudges
(2) https://www.newsweek.com/dog-anger-grudge-pet-behavior-expert-advice-1807048
Conclusion
Based on the scientific research available, there is no conclusive evidence that dogs hold grudges or have the cognitive ability to premeditate vengeance against someone who has wronged them in the past. Dogs likely do not have the complex emotion of holding a grudge since this requires abstract thinking about past events and plotting future retaliation, something dogs lack the cognitive capacity for.
That said, dogs have excellent memories, especially of negative experiences, and they can learn to avoid people or situations that previously caused them pain or distress. While this avoidance behavior may look like a grudge to casual observers who anthropomorphize dogs, it is more likely an innate self-preservation instinct. Dogs that have been abused may become fearful or aggressive around their abuser, but this is due to classical conditioning rather than a deliberate grudge.
As dog owners, the takeaway is that we should always treat our pets with kindness, empathy, and patience. While dogs may not hold grudges, they can suffer emotionally from mistreatment, leading to anxiety and other issues. Creating positive experiences, rewarding good behavior, and working compassionately with a troubled dog can help rebuild trust after a negative incident.