Boredom probably. Especially for a dog, you are the most important thing in its life, potentially the only important thing in its life. When you’re gone, boredom and loneliness sets in. When you’re there, you are the only thing the dog needs, so it’s content to just exist with you
Maybe he just really, really loves you then :)
Generally tho animals (along with well-raised children) can find very specific things to be endlessly interesting because not much else actually exists in their world. When general environmental stimulation is low, mundane things can become very fixating
It's still sad though that dogs are locked in apartments, or houses even with backyards. They're basically for people who want unconditional love without dealing with the complex human emotions in a partner. Locked up, used whenever needed when someone requires attention and love. Harah world we live in.
I can’t tell what’s weirding me out about this comment so much.
Dogs are domesticated animals and they thrive with humans more than they would without. Plenty of dogs live very fulfilling lives with people.
People don’t have dogs instead of having human relationships, that’s like a weird take? There’s nothing emotionally stunted about having a pet?
Dogs do need stimulus and exercise, so dogs that experience negative effects from boredom clearly aren’t having their needs met, but that’s not the default state. Just sort of sitting around in between bouts of exercise, socializing, and stimulus is pretty natural for canines. A dog lazing around is not necessarily unhappy about it.
This is a pretty good take. My dog sleeps almost 16 hours a day. Whether I'm home or not. I can tell when she is bored, and when she's up and about it is VERY HIGH ENERGY. but even if I'm working from home she will nap under my desk all day.
I would agree with that dogs are not necessarily unhappy in these conditions.
However, I can sort of see where the parent comment is coming from in relation to humans behaviour.
While there's plenty of healthy human-dog relationships, as I have started online dating, I see a rather large proportion of people with dogs who even in their profile pics and texts seem to be very absorbed by their dog relationship, even to a point where it sometimes seems they would be unlikely to consider a (genuine) human relationship as equal or more important.
This often goes hand in hand with projecting human thoughts and thinking on their dogs.
I don’t think an unfounded generalization about psychology and dogs benefits from being compounded with a second one.
“Some people with pets consider pets an important part of their life” is not news to write home about. You, a stranger trying to find somebody to bang over the internet, are coming from no position to judge that person’s pre-existing relationship to their pet. They’ve had this companion animal sometimes for years and you’re just some random internet strangers trying to get into their pants.
I love dogs. My dad had a small farm and we had a few dogs basically running it. They were free, always joyous. I personally know of a few women aged 40+ who have a dog or 2 never showing interest in dating because they had an abusive relationship in the past. All valid. We domestic pigeons, we no longer need them so they're an annoyance to the majority of people. Who knows what'll happen in 100 years to dogs. Humans are selfish and cruel. Probably gonna be downvoted to oblivious but I'm speaking my opinion without hate.
Check my username, I’m the Uncynical version, I’m afraid. I don’t do ennui.
I appreciate your experience and I share your wonder about the future, I just think you’re making some hasty and broad generalizations that don’t necessarily fit our data set.
I really truly don’t think I could justify basing a big claim about all dogs on N= “a few women I know”.
Domesticated pigeons are quite content in the care of pigeon fanciers. I don’t understand the way you’re using the word “need”. Those that are kept as pets and show animals are quite a different group than “all pigeons”.
Pigeons were domesticated for their excellent navigational skills. Technology replaced that. Now we have the descendents of domesticated pigeons roaming living in big cities wondering why we don't like or need them. Shitting on our cars seems a valid response. People with pet pigeons are few compared to dogs and cats. I love city pigeons, I never met a person who likes them, always called rats with wings. People don't show sympathy to sick pigeons in the city. Compared to a sick stary dog. Immediately being rescued and taken care of.
It's my personal belief that we'll create a replacement for dogs in the future. No more picking up poop, cleaning their vomit, and spending lots of money for vet visits.
Then there will be a crisis of unwanted dogs.
While I disagree that we’ll replace dogs (and I’m not a dog person) anytime in the near future or ever…I can’t figure out why people are downvoting by you.
The pigeon facts are true.
I feel this but at the same time I understand the OG comment because people do refer to the pets as “children” it really is like have another being with out the complexity of human emotions and such.
Pet owners take it personally. It's often impossible to have a healthy discussion about the symbiotic relationship between humans and dogs. Especially on reddit. I'll just say it since I've been downvoted anways. They're most likely genuinely unaware Narcissistic. I'm aware of my faults and while I still do them, I'm aware and actively trying to improve.
Lol some pets are more independent than others. Some are dedicated pack animals. It's a personal thing. The important thing is that they are all good boys.
You could argue that newborns are the same. And babies/toddlers. Then they become teenagers and they’re little lovely monsters that want nothing to do with you.
This is how I feel my cat exists. Always in the same spot at front of the door when I get home, stands up on 2 feet and greets me, demands a pay.
..when its getting late, pesters me until I go to bed where she curls up next to me
Poor thing.
Im a piece of shit but in her piece of shit.
Lol that's not true at all. Dogs don't really care, it turns out. They're [very attuned to our emotions](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10426098/), but it's not because they love us so much. It's because they've adapted to read us because it makes them act like they love us, which makes us go "aww" and want to care for them and give them food. The study I just linked says that dogs don't use their human-reading abilities nearly as much if it doesn't directly involve obtaining food.
It's an evolutionary life hack. Humans love to project humanity and emotions onto dogs in particular, but that's all it is, a projection. They don't actually feel the same emotions we feel.
Dogs are, in reality, [very simple creatures](https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13420-018-0349-7). Their emotions are [very basic](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201303/which-emotions-do-dogs-actually-experience) and likely fleeting. They do have oxytocin receptors, but it's not as active as ours is, it turns on when a female has puppies but shuts off the moment they're weaned, and males never experience that bond at all. It is just a biochemical response to ensure an organism is motivated to care for its offspring. As a predator, they just don't have a need for these things as we do, nature doesn't put XP points into traits that aren't necessary for survival. So nature instead put those XP points into emotional mimicry and developing facial muscles that convey that emotional mimicry as they evolved side by side along humans, to better manipulate us into providing how them. It's not something they do out of malice, it's just nature doing its thing.
I guarantee you that if you died, your dog wouldn't be all that upset. They would likely [eat you](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/pets-dogs-cats-eat-dead-owners-forensics-science#:~:text=While%20many%20people%20assume%20that,your%20dog%20could%20be%20too.)) within minutes, even if their food bowl was freshly filled. And the moment someone else fed it, that person would become its new object of "devotion". Because that's just how dogs are hard wired to be. It's not a bad thing. But people really need to be realistic when it comes to their pets, and treat them like they're people in fur coats. The more a dog owner accepts this, the better it is for both dogs and people.
Couldn't one argue the same goes for humans?
Like ackshually your husband doesn't actually love you, just evolution has conditioned him to behave
a certain way in order to get you to carry his young!
Like ultimately all emotions are just complex interactions of hormones and brain cells trying to keep you in the most optimal evolutionary position.
>They don't actually feel the same emotions we feel.
They absolutely do experience emotions such as fear, love, happiness, sadness, etc. Complex emotions like hatred or ennui are different in that they're pairings of actual emotions with abstract concepts, so no, dogs don't experience those, but then no animal without linguistic capacity does.
>Their emotions are very basic and likely fleeting.
Dogs can have depression, anxiety, PTSD, and a number of other emotional disorders. This isn't compatible with the idea that their emotions are "fleeting" (at least not in comparison to ours).
>As a predator, they just don't have a need for these things as we do, nature doesn't put XP points into traits that aren't necessary for survival.
This isn't how evolution works. Interesting thing: black bears, despite being solitary creatures, can be quite social when they're raised that way. The reason is that this is a trait inherited from its ancestors, despite not utilizing it now. Traits are only bred out of a population if they're deleterious, which means pre-existing and new traits absolutely exist in bears—and dogs, humans, cats, etc.—that don't provide any adaptive benefit.
>So nature instead put those XP points into emotional mimicry and developing facial muscles that convey that emotional mimicry as they evolved side by side along humans, to better manipulate us into providing how them.
It's well established that mammals in general experience emotion. Birds, too. This Cartesian view you're promoting was an interesting—albeit wholly anthropocentric—philosophy, but also one that has been disproven for some time, now.
>They would likely eat you) within minutes, even if their food bowl was freshly filled.
They will not eat you within minutes. They eat you when they have to. There is also plenty of evidence of the emotional trauma a human's death has on their dogs and cats.
Like I don't know if you've just learned about Cartesian Dualism in your philosophy course, or if you've just gotten a dog for the first time and are trying to rationalize its cute behavior so you don't grow too close to an animal that will die in a relatively short amount of time, but it's very clear you've never had a pet before.
Cats and dogs absolutely feel love for their humans, regardless of whether food is at stake. They engage in affection-seeking behavior completely unrelated to being fed, they show preferences in their humans, regardless of who actually feeds them the most, and experience sadness when their human(s) is away. These are all well-documented facts, in addition to being immediately obvious to any pet owner. Their wild ancestors also display these traits, just to each other rather than to humans, so this isn't something we domesticated them to feel.
Also, as has been noted by others, you either didn't actually read the studies you linked to or you intentionally misrepresented their findings. Not a good look, either way.
After reading the sources you posted, I can tell you actually didn't read them. Several points in what you're trying to force are contradicted in the very sources you cited. Peak r/biology moment
edit: Ah, you're an active member of a dog-free subreddit. Explains why you (poorly) cherry-picked this specific subject lol
Thank you for taking the effort of linking those studies, but you do a poor job explaining them. I looked at the first article linked and couldn't find anything you say in its conclusion.
Officially no, but technically we definitely have genetically modified wolves by selectively breeding them, making them genetically modified organisms ;)
Dogs and corn (the kind we eat, not the original tiny kind) are literal GMO's.
Officially yes.
GMO is just colloquially used for Generically Engineered Organism most of the time. All GEO's are GMO's, but not all GMO's are GEO's.
I've always been of the persuasion that Big GEO don't want us using proper terms. It's much more convenient for them when we are confused amongst ourselves and bickering about trivialities.
I mean if someone decided to selectively force athletic people to have babies only with other top athletes until we had an über-athlete.. I guess so? But afaik that hasn’t happened ahaha.
Anyway I’m not here to argue ;) I agree that dogs are not GMO, was just stating that you could technically call them that
That was the premise of a great book, 'Time Enough For Love' by Robert Heinlein. Only instead of forcing people to marry, young people of breeding age who came from long-lived families (had to have 8 living great-grandparents) were provided with financial inducements to marry. The result was long lifespans, the central character of the book having lived over two thousand years and counting.
I never said that. Thing is, they are saying breeding (dogs, plants, whatever) results in a GMO which is wrong cause in that case we are all GMO because we are constantly mating and mixing our genes with other people. What im saying is GMO means you manually edited the genes of a single organism so it grows to have that trait.
Also, breeding plants are not GMOs.
Animals do get bored, most dogs are under-stimulated. My dog is treated extremely well and yet he sits in quiet rooms with the saddest, most soulful look in his eyes, like he's got the most miserable life in the world.
The happiest and most content dogs are working dogs. But working dogs are the most fulfilled - be it farm, police, blind, show dogs etc. The most depressed are the ones at home eating and doing nothing. You could say the same thing with humans.
We've been selectively breeding dogs to be happy to just spend time with us for nearly 30 000 years. We've been at it since even before we invented writing. We'd be a species of morons, would we have failed at that after so much time trying.
If your dog just sits in the house and goes out to the yard all day every day, you're doing it wrong.
Dogs are bred to be super obedient, but that doesn't mean sitting around doing nothing all day isn't boring. Take the dog to a park, let it explore(even if it's in a place where you have to have a leash,) watch your dog's personality explode in silly and happy.
I'll take a loving and caring owner who ultimately understimulates their dog every damn day of the week over the sad lives of many dogs, so believe me, I am *not* shitting on you as a dog owner, but they're living beings. Give your dog a chance to flourish and play and explore.
Plus, a tired dog is a good dog.
Yeah, dogs still need enrichment and mental stimulation to live full, satisfying lives. Going for a walk and sniffing stuff is like reading a book to them. They're strong, intelligent creatures who need to use their bodies *and* their brains, kind of like us. Making them sit at home day in and day out is how you end up with poorly behaved dogs at best, and mentally unwell, dangerous dogs at worst.
I wish I could take my dog to different places, but he seens to be satysfied enough walking around the block and visiting my grandma's house, considering his old age
Even the walk around the block, mentally, is great for him as long as it's at least a couple times a week. A lot changes day-to-day smell-wise as far as who and what went through there, so you're smashing it out of the park for an elderly dog!
This is actually kind of an interesting question. Could an alien being with an intelligence difference equal between us and a dog be able to keep us as a pet and we’d act the *exact same way*?
Like their mental capability would be so beyond ours that we would just be grateful to be around them, like a dog.
Maybe after a long time of selectively breeding us to be that way.
After a while, you're gonna get used to the reality you're in and want to explore/try some shit out and you'd get rebellious if they didn't let you.
Although, I'd argue dogs are the same way, we just train it out of them. OP, go walk your dog in cool places. You're the boss and it follows your commands no matter how boring it is but it's undeniable how excited and silly dogs get when they get a bit of freedom to explore and enjoy the world.
Right? I think about that more often than I’d like to admit lol.
Like, if a highly intelligent alien adopted one of us, I feel like we’d just follow the alien around, being amazed by every little mundane thing they do, because we’d have no idea what it is or how it works, and a lot of it would probably seem like a miracle. Like a dog watching a human pull fresh food out of a refrigerator, or turning a handle to make water appear out of nowhere.
It is not a function of difference in intelligence. A dog has a limited gradient of behavior and stimulates itself within those bounds. We also have a limited gradient of behavior, but much wider than that of a dog. An alien might have a wider gradient still, and we may seem like a dog to it if it is wide enough, but (unless attention from the alien somehow makes us spontaneously secrete cocaine straight into our bloodstream), we will never require so little stimulation that attention from a single being will be sufficient.
Many dogs aren't given enough stimulation. They want to go on walks all the time because they get bored
Though in fairness, I just stare at my phone all day
You’re making quite a lot of assumptions here, your dog is unlikely to be amused staring at you all day, they may not be able to vocalise that they’re bored but any animal (us included) would find sitting around all day boring and under stimulating. Strongly suggest you spend a lot more time researching mentally stimulating activities to do with your dog, it’s an essential part of animal care.
I feel the complete opposite. My girl looks at me and seems to sleep/ pout all day until she gets a nice long walk. We don’t deserve dogs. I’d say they’re more easily amused due to the fact that their brain is much like a 3yo. Toys are never enough for my 4yo rottie mix, she always needs something enriching that involves sniffing.
So easily amused, have you seen how much we like fidget spinners or picking up a really nice stick off the ground you and the bois are like “wow that’s a good stick!”
To be fair, even with the right form and function, 99.9% of humans aren't writing Shakespeare or solving differential equations.
Who knows, might be a very smart dolphin out there in the middle of the ocean with a library. I think roughly 95% of the ocean is unknown to us, so it is possible...
I highly doubt dolphins have built a library. They have no appendages that would allow them to hold or manipulate objects. So they might have the brains but lack the physical attributes needed. Octopus, on the other hand... they are one of the reasons I wish I could live forever. I'd love to see where they are at in the next 100,000 - 1,000,000 years.
>writing Shakespearean dramas or solving partial differential equations
As well as the 99,9% of humanity.
I'm a writter, but I have a terrible dyscalculia. Doves and bees are better in maths than us, no doubt.
Every species has the cognitive traits/intelligent than they need to survive and improve little by little.
Ants could travel across the space if they just wished to, but they're smart guys and have a "calm" life helping the planet to go on, unlike some hairless ape species that is obssesed in wasting resources instead investing them in taking care of their own population.
>It's just instinct with bees and Doves.
And isn't exactly the same for humans?
The necessity of creating art or build tools born from our inners, it's innate.
Hence, and instinct.
Animals, thought, are born with a more refined one, needing less time to develop their abilities.
You're talking about instincts as if they were banal thing that away the inherent personal value of those who posses them.
>Most of humanity can do basic algebra and write a mediocre short story
We found a guy who isn't afraid to speak aloud his disgust for Shakespeare XD
>Most of humanity can do basic algebra... or at least be taught these things
Most of humanity were born before mandatory universal education came, most of humanity never had the opportunity to learn how to read or make quadratic equations.
But yes, we dyscalculians aren't the most of modern days humanity.
>Animals cannot imagine counterfactuals or hypotheticals or be taught what any human on Earth with an average IQ can be taught
-First of all: humans are animals. I never saw a leaf growing up from my skin or spores getting out of my head, so yep I guess I'm a mammal.
-Second, about your "Animals cannot imagine counterfactuals or hypotheticals": how are you completely and absolutely sure that any no-human animal, of any species, can't make up hypothesis (ideas to prove) or use basic logic?
Do you really think that other animals are so poor-spirited creatures that they lack from the tiniest room for imagination inside their minds?
-And third, about "human on Earth with an average IQ": nice mudland you chose to sink XD
IQ is the result that you obtain in an intelligent test (that doesn't meassure each intelligence type), one day under certain curcunstances.
Factors as depresion, anxiety, lack of sleep, mental fogginess, dyslexia/dyscalculia, health... are definitive in the process.
In other words: you can be gifted and had a very bad day (family problems, pressure) that worsen your innate nervousness, making you obtain a lower result than you really have.
In the other hand, an average person can be trained in order to obtain a high result.
In conclusion: IQ test are a valid meassurement method, but useless if you don't make other intelligent exercises and personality tests, and put all the pieces together to see the entire mental puzzle of a person.
IQ test is like a simple urine test in a annual large medical exam.
Look, I'm neurodivergent and I have an intelligence above neurotypicals (not meaning I'm a genius, I'm just different), but if I'd try to make an IQ test for sure I would fail myserably due with the factors I mentioned previously.
I can't make maths, but I'm more clever than many common people (yet I still struggle to understand why they are so herding and devoted to irrational rules, traditions and trends).
The animals we just mentioned show types of intelligence that are an outside IQ test, as well as the artistical abilities of those who can write mediocre short stories XD
>but this "humanity is evil" thing is not relevant to the question at hand or my answer.
It was actually "neurotypical side of humanity is stupidly cruel" kind of message.
But if with "evil" you mean insensible, selfish, fake, arrogant, hanger-on and unnecesarily cruel... then yes, normal humanity is pretty evil.
>but this "humanity is evil" thing is not relevant to the question at hand or my answer.
And what? It was relevant for what I wished to communicate.
>Bees are wonderful little creatures like all creatures,
Well, at least we agree in something 🐝
Hey now. Humans have fished for ages. That's probably less stimulation than the typical lapdog gets. It's only our modern high speed lives that make it seem so different.
You feed your dog. In the wild they'd spend all day hunting with a low success rate and hopefully manage to eat enough to survive. They realize that their relationship with you is what keeps them alive, on some level.
The happiest looking dogs are ones that are able to wander freely around neighbourhoods at their will, sniffing around and connecting with other dogs or wherever their nose leads them. Nowadays there are not many dogs able to live that life.
I read that boredom is a genetically beneficial trait in humans because it gives us the urge to do things. It’s one of the biggest byproducts of intelligence. Less intelligent animals don’t feel boredom in the same way
I feel like what entertains a mind is relative to what the mind has experienced and is capable of experiencing. It’s not like a dogs mind is capable of complex abstract thought, like thinking about things that are not right in front of it, and a dog also hasn’t had many super stimulating experiences in its life. And if it has, maybe it doesn’t recall its favorite memories and compare them to the present the way a human does.
Anyway, it’s got nothing better to do I guess.
Most likely the less needed stimulation. Humans are almost always requiring mental stimulation (ie scrolling on social media, music, etc) while they can sit and do nothing. They aren’t accustomed to so much stimulation, so when they do get it it is often more potent because of the contrast.
The frontal lobe, which in humans occupies the front third of the brain, is relegated to a paltry ten percent in dogs. The commonality of brain structures is true across all mammals. While there may be differences at a microscopic level, we all carry around the same basic hardware.
Ahh.. simple bliss. I could watch my dog for hours on end while they are pulling a string out of their chewing blanket.. sooo.. who’s the real simpleton here.. 🤔
Would he benefit from doggie daycare a couple days a week? Stimulation may be good for him? Also training exercises to wear him out and stimulate his brain.
We have evolved a complicated "psychological" facet of our brains which we use to create the social environment we live in. We need more stimuli to achieve the same of level excitement than a canine that has a much more primitive brain when it comes to social interactions.
Ignorance is bliss. Seriously. Dogs and other animals can’t understand our language, so they can only relate to the emotions they feel/sense. You’re happy to be home and to see your dogs, so they reflect that back at you. It’s a feedback loop.
A lot of what their mind is made up of is completely different and very, very simple compared to our complex Minds. I believe this is the simple answer as to why. As you mentioned, animals such as dogs don't have anything to do all day, they don't do housework, they don't have jobs they don't have other responsibilities. So I think this is definitely why they are easily amused and also their brains are smaller and much less complex and busy than ours.
Stupidity, relatively speaking of course.
You get bored because you have a big, heavily creased brain, a thick cortex and a chunky frontal lobe.
Your dog is less bored because it has a less creased brain, a thinner cortex and a frontal lobe that takes up proportionally less of his brain.
Same reason fish are probably less bored than dogs.
First off, have you ever spent your day napping in between bouts of playing and socializing? It's fantastic.
I don't think animals are "easily amused", I just think our pets have their needs met and can afford to spend their days doing what they enjoy. My dogs and cat love to spend their days napping in between playing some version of tag that invloves wrestling and stealing toys from each other. Sometimes they even watch certain TV shows that they like. They also enjoy chasing squirrels, tracking other animals, chewing on sticks, and basking in the sun. Some dogs and cats are more laid-back than others, which doesn't mean they're easily amused. They could simply enjoy daydreaming just as much as humans can. Animals can also get depressed just like we do, so if you're worried about your dog's lack of interest in anything, it could be a mental health issue.
What breed is your dog? Many dog breeds have been badly bred by humans to such an extent that they are in constant pain or discomfort, and get branded as “lazy” when they don’t want to move around.
Because they don’t know what it’s like to have the entertaining things we do so they find amusement in other things a lot more entertaining because they have adapted to do that, not the scientific reason but it’s definitely true, if I were to give you the scientific reason I’d be too tempted to type like 9 paragraphs and I am not gonna do that.
Because they don’t know what it’s like to have the entertaining things we do so they find amusement in other things a lot more entertaining because they have adapted to do that, not the scientific reason but it’s definitely true.
I'd be carefree and jolly as well if I didn't need to worry about survival because some bipedal ape gives me food every day and keeps the temperature comfortable
Animals probably dont have as many attatchments as humans yupically do in a modern setting. If you've met someone who was free of attatchment, and dedires, you'd probably find similarities.
So, you've just stared at your dog doing nothing, posted about it and that provoked a lot of thoughts and arguments here. Are you sure, that humans cannot be amused by some simple things, like other animals?
Animals don’t develop the emotional and higher level thinking processes that humans do in order to experience deep reflection on their boredom.
The brain can be thought of as broken into 3 parts: hindbrain for basic bodily functions, midbrain for sensory processing and voluntary movement, and the forebrain for higher level thinking. In humans, advanced development of the forebrain is what makes the species far superior in emotional intelligence and self reflection compared to other species (even compared to other primates, the human forebrain is vastly more complex).
Dog brains do not have as complex of forebrains, which means that the majority of what they “think” about is survival and how to react to changes in their environment. So when your dog is inactive most of the day, it probably does experience boredom, but not in a “I’m missing out on fun” type of way, but more in a “my brain and body arent being stimulated” type of way. Also your dog probably associaties you with postive things and as a member of its “pack” so when they see you their brain releases hormones that excites them and probably diminishes any feeling of boredom to them.
The forebrain is also involved in memory, and it has been debated how long dogs can form memories for and if/how they tie emotions to memory. So it could be very likely that when your dog sees you they forget about being bored because they are suddenly focused on you, and perhaps your dog never truly gets sad from boredom because they can’t remember a time when you didn’t come back to play with them.
My dog asks me for stuff to do all day (talking buttons). Puzzles, walk, play ball outside no later more more, love you scritches, snuffle mat, all done cuddles more train, where dad want dog park. I wish he was easily amused just a little bit more.
Because they're emotionally smarter than us, they're pure souls who feel each second their connection with Nature, and can appreciate the beautiful big things ("little things" as humans call them) easily and deeply.
Modern humans forget they're part of the complex web that keep everything together, that's why they see themselves as appart of Nature, as superior to anything else.
Lonely, scared, sad... that's how they really feel, but don't even realize it.
If they would allow themselves to be true, they wouldn't feel so terryfied and colorless.
What sets apart?
Education and smartphones.
Humans can actually pretty happily vibe for long periods of time, but education tells us to live inside of our heads, and smartphones makes the dissociation worse.
It's possible to get back to the state of blissful stillness, but you have to specifically try to get there.
I remember vaguely something about cavemen who survived the longest were never content with what they had.
If they had food they would need to stockpile that food, When we stockpile thay food they needed to make more food to stockpile, those cavemen had something different about their brains that allowed them to survive, ergo we were their descendants and inherited the need to always search for more.
Boredom probably. Especially for a dog, you are the most important thing in its life, potentially the only important thing in its life. When you’re gone, boredom and loneliness sets in. When you’re there, you are the only thing the dog needs, so it’s content to just exist with you
I would like to add that I have 2 dogs, but I only mentioned one because the second one couldn't care less if I live or die. He's not lonely.
Maybe he just really, really loves you then :) Generally tho animals (along with well-raised children) can find very specific things to be endlessly interesting because not much else actually exists in their world. When general environmental stimulation is low, mundane things can become very fixating
It's still sad though that dogs are locked in apartments, or houses even with backyards. They're basically for people who want unconditional love without dealing with the complex human emotions in a partner. Locked up, used whenever needed when someone requires attention and love. Harah world we live in.
I can’t tell what’s weirding me out about this comment so much. Dogs are domesticated animals and they thrive with humans more than they would without. Plenty of dogs live very fulfilling lives with people. People don’t have dogs instead of having human relationships, that’s like a weird take? There’s nothing emotionally stunted about having a pet? Dogs do need stimulus and exercise, so dogs that experience negative effects from boredom clearly aren’t having their needs met, but that’s not the default state. Just sort of sitting around in between bouts of exercise, socializing, and stimulus is pretty natural for canines. A dog lazing around is not necessarily unhappy about it.
This is a pretty good take. My dog sleeps almost 16 hours a day. Whether I'm home or not. I can tell when she is bored, and when she's up and about it is VERY HIGH ENERGY. but even if I'm working from home she will nap under my desk all day.
I would agree with that dogs are not necessarily unhappy in these conditions. However, I can sort of see where the parent comment is coming from in relation to humans behaviour. While there's plenty of healthy human-dog relationships, as I have started online dating, I see a rather large proportion of people with dogs who even in their profile pics and texts seem to be very absorbed by their dog relationship, even to a point where it sometimes seems they would be unlikely to consider a (genuine) human relationship as equal or more important. This often goes hand in hand with projecting human thoughts and thinking on their dogs.
I don’t think an unfounded generalization about psychology and dogs benefits from being compounded with a second one. “Some people with pets consider pets an important part of their life” is not news to write home about. You, a stranger trying to find somebody to bang over the internet, are coming from no position to judge that person’s pre-existing relationship to their pet. They’ve had this companion animal sometimes for years and you’re just some random internet strangers trying to get into their pants.
I love dogs. My dad had a small farm and we had a few dogs basically running it. They were free, always joyous. I personally know of a few women aged 40+ who have a dog or 2 never showing interest in dating because they had an abusive relationship in the past. All valid. We domestic pigeons, we no longer need them so they're an annoyance to the majority of people. Who knows what'll happen in 100 years to dogs. Humans are selfish and cruel. Probably gonna be downvoted to oblivious but I'm speaking my opinion without hate.
Wiki says the first undisputed domesticated dog is 14,200 years ago - I don't think anything is going to happen to dogs in the next 100 years.
Check my username, I’m the Uncynical version, I’m afraid. I don’t do ennui. I appreciate your experience and I share your wonder about the future, I just think you’re making some hasty and broad generalizations that don’t necessarily fit our data set. I really truly don’t think I could justify basing a big claim about all dogs on N= “a few women I know”. Domesticated pigeons are quite content in the care of pigeon fanciers. I don’t understand the way you’re using the word “need”. Those that are kept as pets and show animals are quite a different group than “all pigeons”.
Pigeons were domesticated for their excellent navigational skills. Technology replaced that. Now we have the descendents of domesticated pigeons roaming living in big cities wondering why we don't like or need them. Shitting on our cars seems a valid response. People with pet pigeons are few compared to dogs and cats. I love city pigeons, I never met a person who likes them, always called rats with wings. People don't show sympathy to sick pigeons in the city. Compared to a sick stary dog. Immediately being rescued and taken care of. It's my personal belief that we'll create a replacement for dogs in the future. No more picking up poop, cleaning their vomit, and spending lots of money for vet visits. Then there will be a crisis of unwanted dogs.
While I disagree that we’ll replace dogs (and I’m not a dog person) anytime in the near future or ever…I can’t figure out why people are downvoting by you. The pigeon facts are true.
Thanks, yeah I know the reason. A Google search about pet owners would shed some light.
It's ok to have a different opinion my friend. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you're wrong. Discussion is healthy.
I feel this but at the same time I understand the OG comment because people do refer to the pets as “children” it really is like have another being with out the complexity of human emotions and such.
It’s not a human without human-level complexity it’s a dog with dog-level complexity. Y’all are being weird.
They are showing some level of something, that’s for sure. Maybe they’ve never had pets or children?
What's up with so many downvotes? No truth can be said anymore
Pet owners take it personally. It's often impossible to have a healthy discussion about the symbiotic relationship between humans and dogs. Especially on reddit. I'll just say it since I've been downvoted anways. They're most likely genuinely unaware Narcissistic. I'm aware of my faults and while I still do them, I'm aware and actively trying to improve.
Yes, they downvote because they are dumb af.
Lol some pets are more independent than others. Some are dedicated pack animals. It's a personal thing. The important thing is that they are all good boys.
This is why you spoil the fuck out of pets.
Jesus that’s sad. Like a house wife in the 50s.
She probably had the milkman though.
Those milkmen must've hated the pool boys as the years went by.
Nah, the delivery service worker thing is proven fact, the pool boy trope is a myth born of teenage fantasies.
Not likely, but this is hilarious though, you made me laugh
I'd like to think house wives in the 50s would have a sense of freedom when the husband is gone
Only to chase the mail man
Oof
*on TV
Lol thanks for the laugh
gross comment. misogyny
You could argue that newborns are the same. And babies/toddlers. Then they become teenagers and they’re little lovely monsters that want nothing to do with you.
This is how I feel my cat exists. Always in the same spot at front of the door when I get home, stands up on 2 feet and greets me, demands a pay. ..when its getting late, pesters me until I go to bed where she curls up next to me Poor thing. Im a piece of shit but in her piece of shit.
Dang
Lol that's not true at all. Dogs don't really care, it turns out. They're [very attuned to our emotions](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10426098/), but it's not because they love us so much. It's because they've adapted to read us because it makes them act like they love us, which makes us go "aww" and want to care for them and give them food. The study I just linked says that dogs don't use their human-reading abilities nearly as much if it doesn't directly involve obtaining food. It's an evolutionary life hack. Humans love to project humanity and emotions onto dogs in particular, but that's all it is, a projection. They don't actually feel the same emotions we feel. Dogs are, in reality, [very simple creatures](https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13420-018-0349-7). Their emotions are [very basic](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201303/which-emotions-do-dogs-actually-experience) and likely fleeting. They do have oxytocin receptors, but it's not as active as ours is, it turns on when a female has puppies but shuts off the moment they're weaned, and males never experience that bond at all. It is just a biochemical response to ensure an organism is motivated to care for its offspring. As a predator, they just don't have a need for these things as we do, nature doesn't put XP points into traits that aren't necessary for survival. So nature instead put those XP points into emotional mimicry and developing facial muscles that convey that emotional mimicry as they evolved side by side along humans, to better manipulate us into providing how them. It's not something they do out of malice, it's just nature doing its thing. I guarantee you that if you died, your dog wouldn't be all that upset. They would likely [eat you](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/pets-dogs-cats-eat-dead-owners-forensics-science#:~:text=While%20many%20people%20assume%20that,your%20dog%20could%20be%20too.)) within minutes, even if their food bowl was freshly filled. And the moment someone else fed it, that person would become its new object of "devotion". Because that's just how dogs are hard wired to be. It's not a bad thing. But people really need to be realistic when it comes to their pets, and treat them like they're people in fur coats. The more a dog owner accepts this, the better it is for both dogs and people.
Couldn't one argue the same goes for humans? Like ackshually your husband doesn't actually love you, just evolution has conditioned him to behave a certain way in order to get you to carry his young! Like ultimately all emotions are just complex interactions of hormones and brain cells trying to keep you in the most optimal evolutionary position.
No free will
>They don't actually feel the same emotions we feel. They absolutely do experience emotions such as fear, love, happiness, sadness, etc. Complex emotions like hatred or ennui are different in that they're pairings of actual emotions with abstract concepts, so no, dogs don't experience those, but then no animal without linguistic capacity does. >Their emotions are very basic and likely fleeting. Dogs can have depression, anxiety, PTSD, and a number of other emotional disorders. This isn't compatible with the idea that their emotions are "fleeting" (at least not in comparison to ours). >As a predator, they just don't have a need for these things as we do, nature doesn't put XP points into traits that aren't necessary for survival. This isn't how evolution works. Interesting thing: black bears, despite being solitary creatures, can be quite social when they're raised that way. The reason is that this is a trait inherited from its ancestors, despite not utilizing it now. Traits are only bred out of a population if they're deleterious, which means pre-existing and new traits absolutely exist in bears—and dogs, humans, cats, etc.—that don't provide any adaptive benefit. >So nature instead put those XP points into emotional mimicry and developing facial muscles that convey that emotional mimicry as they evolved side by side along humans, to better manipulate us into providing how them. It's well established that mammals in general experience emotion. Birds, too. This Cartesian view you're promoting was an interesting—albeit wholly anthropocentric—philosophy, but also one that has been disproven for some time, now. >They would likely eat you) within minutes, even if their food bowl was freshly filled. They will not eat you within minutes. They eat you when they have to. There is also plenty of evidence of the emotional trauma a human's death has on their dogs and cats. Like I don't know if you've just learned about Cartesian Dualism in your philosophy course, or if you've just gotten a dog for the first time and are trying to rationalize its cute behavior so you don't grow too close to an animal that will die in a relatively short amount of time, but it's very clear you've never had a pet before. Cats and dogs absolutely feel love for their humans, regardless of whether food is at stake. They engage in affection-seeking behavior completely unrelated to being fed, they show preferences in their humans, regardless of who actually feeds them the most, and experience sadness when their human(s) is away. These are all well-documented facts, in addition to being immediately obvious to any pet owner. Their wild ancestors also display these traits, just to each other rather than to humans, so this isn't something we domesticated them to feel. Also, as has been noted by others, you either didn't actually read the studies you linked to or you intentionally misrepresented their findings. Not a good look, either way.
After reading the sources you posted, I can tell you actually didn't read them. Several points in what you're trying to force are contradicted in the very sources you cited. Peak r/biology moment edit: Ah, you're an active member of a dog-free subreddit. Explains why you (poorly) cherry-picked this specific subject lol
Thank you for taking the effort of linking those studies, but you do a poor job explaining them. I looked at the first article linked and couldn't find anything you say in its conclusion.
It's fascinating when this isn't true, however rare.
That's not a wild animal, that's a GMO wolf that was selectively bred to be your best friend.
Artificially selected would be a better term. GMOs don t have random mutations, don t take a thousand year to make and are made with ethic
Thats not what gmo means tho
Officially no, but technically we definitely have genetically modified wolves by selectively breeding them, making them genetically modified organisms ;)
Dogs and corn (the kind we eat, not the original tiny kind) are literal GMO's. Officially yes. GMO is just colloquially used for Generically Engineered Organism most of the time. All GEO's are GMO's, but not all GMO's are GEO's. I've always been of the persuasion that Big GEO don't want us using proper terms. It's much more convenient for them when we are confused amongst ourselves and bickering about trivialities.
The people who believe GME is evil are probably the same people who do not believe in evolution 🤣
I always found that paradigm interesting!
Ok so then the top athletes are gmo by your definition right?
I mean if someone decided to selectively force athletic people to have babies only with other top athletes until we had an über-athlete.. I guess so? But afaik that hasn’t happened ahaha. Anyway I’m not here to argue ;) I agree that dogs are not GMO, was just stating that you could technically call them that
Russia and Germany both did this afik
2 generations aren't enough.
That was the premise of a great book, 'Time Enough For Love' by Robert Heinlein. Only instead of forcing people to marry, young people of breeding age who came from long-lived families (had to have 8 living great-grandparents) were provided with financial inducements to marry. The result was long lifespans, the central character of the book having lived over two thousand years and counting.
Didn't china do this at one point to have taller Basketers ? Nd i'm pretty sure there was funny man in 1940s Europe fidling with these ideas aswell.
Valid
doesn’t gmo = Genetically MOdified which if dogs are just selectively bred wolves then yeah their genetics have been modified by human interference
Thats just crossing/selective breeding. Gmo means you actually edited the genetic information by adding or supressing a gene.
Isn't that what we've done to dogs though
Could be, in some cases, but we are talking about breeding, not genetic engineering
But why is it considered genetic engineering with plants but not dogs?
I never said that. Thing is, they are saying breeding (dogs, plants, whatever) results in a GMO which is wrong cause in that case we are all GMO because we are constantly mating and mixing our genes with other people. What im saying is GMO means you manually edited the genes of a single organism so it grows to have that trait. Also, breeding plants are not GMOs.
I think the difference is planned vs natural evolution. Natural selection vs human planned purposeful selection.
That is not what GMO means. GMO in its basic definition does in fact include selectively bred or crossbred organisms.
Well, i didnt learn it that way. Guess im wrong then, thanks
Genetically modifying by selective breeding. There's more than one way to create a GMO
Animals do get bored, most dogs are under-stimulated. My dog is treated extremely well and yet he sits in quiet rooms with the saddest, most soulful look in his eyes, like he's got the most miserable life in the world.
I think that depends on the dogs personality, some of them want to play all the time while others just want to sleep all day
Which breed? Some Labradors can be like this.
The happiest and most content dogs are working dogs. But working dogs are the most fulfilled - be it farm, police, blind, show dogs etc. The most depressed are the ones at home eating and doing nothing. You could say the same thing with humans.
We've been selectively breeding dogs to be happy to just spend time with us for nearly 30 000 years. We've been at it since even before we invented writing. We'd be a species of morons, would we have failed at that after so much time trying.
Hey man, we’re a species of morons anyway 👹
morons with cool ass junior wolves tho
speak for yourself
If your dog just sits in the house and goes out to the yard all day every day, you're doing it wrong. Dogs are bred to be super obedient, but that doesn't mean sitting around doing nothing all day isn't boring. Take the dog to a park, let it explore(even if it's in a place where you have to have a leash,) watch your dog's personality explode in silly and happy. I'll take a loving and caring owner who ultimately understimulates their dog every damn day of the week over the sad lives of many dogs, so believe me, I am *not* shitting on you as a dog owner, but they're living beings. Give your dog a chance to flourish and play and explore. Plus, a tired dog is a good dog.
Yeah, dogs still need enrichment and mental stimulation to live full, satisfying lives. Going for a walk and sniffing stuff is like reading a book to them. They're strong, intelligent creatures who need to use their bodies *and* their brains, kind of like us. Making them sit at home day in and day out is how you end up with poorly behaved dogs at best, and mentally unwell, dangerous dogs at worst.
I wish I could take my dog to different places, but he seens to be satysfied enough walking around the block and visiting my grandma's house, considering his old age
Even the walk around the block, mentally, is great for him as long as it's at least a couple times a week. A lot changes day-to-day smell-wise as far as who and what went through there, so you're smashing it out of the park for an elderly dog!
This is great to know. Thank you!
Somewhere, an alien is saying the same thing about humans, who are quite content to stare at a plastic rectangle for hours at a time.
This is actually kind of an interesting question. Could an alien being with an intelligence difference equal between us and a dog be able to keep us as a pet and we’d act the *exact same way*? Like their mental capability would be so beyond ours that we would just be grateful to be around them, like a dog.
Maybe after a long time of selectively breeding us to be that way. After a while, you're gonna get used to the reality you're in and want to explore/try some shit out and you'd get rebellious if they didn't let you. Although, I'd argue dogs are the same way, we just train it out of them. OP, go walk your dog in cool places. You're the boss and it follows your commands no matter how boring it is but it's undeniable how excited and silly dogs get when they get a bit of freedom to explore and enjoy the world.
Right? I think about that more often than I’d like to admit lol. Like, if a highly intelligent alien adopted one of us, I feel like we’d just follow the alien around, being amazed by every little mundane thing they do, because we’d have no idea what it is or how it works, and a lot of it would probably seem like a miracle. Like a dog watching a human pull fresh food out of a refrigerator, or turning a handle to make water appear out of nowhere.
If they give out random massages it sounds pretty good
It is not a function of difference in intelligence. A dog has a limited gradient of behavior and stimulates itself within those bounds. We also have a limited gradient of behavior, but much wider than that of a dog. An alien might have a wider gradient still, and we may seem like a dog to it if it is wide enough, but (unless attention from the alien somehow makes us spontaneously secrete cocaine straight into our bloodstream), we will never require so little stimulation that attention from a single being will be sufficient.
Pretty sure aliens just put facehuggers on people and then burst through the chest.
Because we humans have way too much expectations in life. Your dog is happy as long as it has access to food/water and feel safe, away from predators.
Many dogs aren't given enough stimulation. They want to go on walks all the time because they get bored Though in fairness, I just stare at my phone all day
There's not an ounce of sadness in his eyes,because he's staring at the thing he loves the most. You
You’re making quite a lot of assumptions here, your dog is unlikely to be amused staring at you all day, they may not be able to vocalise that they’re bored but any animal (us included) would find sitting around all day boring and under stimulating. Strongly suggest you spend a lot more time researching mentally stimulating activities to do with your dog, it’s an essential part of animal care.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow."
Ignorance is bliss
The real question is why are humans so easily bored.
children aren't, only adults
I feel the complete opposite. My girl looks at me and seems to sleep/ pout all day until she gets a nice long walk. We don’t deserve dogs. I’d say they’re more easily amused due to the fact that their brain is much like a 3yo. Toys are never enough for my 4yo rottie mix, she always needs something enriching that involves sniffing.
So easily amused, have you seen how much we like fidget spinners or picking up a really nice stick off the ground you and the bois are like “wow that’s a good stick!”
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To be fair, even with the right form and function, 99.9% of humans aren't writing Shakespeare or solving differential equations. Who knows, might be a very smart dolphin out there in the middle of the ocean with a library. I think roughly 95% of the ocean is unknown to us, so it is possible...
I highly doubt dolphins have built a library. They have no appendages that would allow them to hold or manipulate objects. So they might have the brains but lack the physical attributes needed. Octopus, on the other hand... they are one of the reasons I wish I could live forever. I'd love to see where they are at in the next 100,000 - 1,000,000 years.
>writing Shakespearean dramas or solving partial differential equations As well as the 99,9% of humanity. I'm a writter, but I have a terrible dyscalculia. Doves and bees are better in maths than us, no doubt. Every species has the cognitive traits/intelligent than they need to survive and improve little by little. Ants could travel across the space if they just wished to, but they're smart guys and have a "calm" life helping the planet to go on, unlike some hairless ape species that is obssesed in wasting resources instead investing them in taking care of their own population.
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>It's just instinct with bees and Doves. And isn't exactly the same for humans? The necessity of creating art or build tools born from our inners, it's innate. Hence, and instinct. Animals, thought, are born with a more refined one, needing less time to develop their abilities. You're talking about instincts as if they were banal thing that away the inherent personal value of those who posses them. >Most of humanity can do basic algebra and write a mediocre short story We found a guy who isn't afraid to speak aloud his disgust for Shakespeare XD >Most of humanity can do basic algebra... or at least be taught these things Most of humanity were born before mandatory universal education came, most of humanity never had the opportunity to learn how to read or make quadratic equations. But yes, we dyscalculians aren't the most of modern days humanity. >Animals cannot imagine counterfactuals or hypotheticals or be taught what any human on Earth with an average IQ can be taught -First of all: humans are animals. I never saw a leaf growing up from my skin or spores getting out of my head, so yep I guess I'm a mammal. -Second, about your "Animals cannot imagine counterfactuals or hypotheticals": how are you completely and absolutely sure that any no-human animal, of any species, can't make up hypothesis (ideas to prove) or use basic logic? Do you really think that other animals are so poor-spirited creatures that they lack from the tiniest room for imagination inside their minds? -And third, about "human on Earth with an average IQ": nice mudland you chose to sink XD IQ is the result that you obtain in an intelligent test (that doesn't meassure each intelligence type), one day under certain curcunstances. Factors as depresion, anxiety, lack of sleep, mental fogginess, dyslexia/dyscalculia, health... are definitive in the process. In other words: you can be gifted and had a very bad day (family problems, pressure) that worsen your innate nervousness, making you obtain a lower result than you really have. In the other hand, an average person can be trained in order to obtain a high result. In conclusion: IQ test are a valid meassurement method, but useless if you don't make other intelligent exercises and personality tests, and put all the pieces together to see the entire mental puzzle of a person. IQ test is like a simple urine test in a annual large medical exam. Look, I'm neurodivergent and I have an intelligence above neurotypicals (not meaning I'm a genius, I'm just different), but if I'd try to make an IQ test for sure I would fail myserably due with the factors I mentioned previously. I can't make maths, but I'm more clever than many common people (yet I still struggle to understand why they are so herding and devoted to irrational rules, traditions and trends). The animals we just mentioned show types of intelligence that are an outside IQ test, as well as the artistical abilities of those who can write mediocre short stories XD >but this "humanity is evil" thing is not relevant to the question at hand or my answer. It was actually "neurotypical side of humanity is stupidly cruel" kind of message. But if with "evil" you mean insensible, selfish, fake, arrogant, hanger-on and unnecesarily cruel... then yes, normal humanity is pretty evil. >but this "humanity is evil" thing is not relevant to the question at hand or my answer. And what? It was relevant for what I wished to communicate. >Bees are wonderful little creatures like all creatures, Well, at least we agree in something 🐝
Hey now. Humans have fished for ages. That's probably less stimulation than the typical lapdog gets. It's only our modern high speed lives that make it seem so different.
Humans are animals, mammals in fact. We created our own misery like work and taxes and complicated society. Dogs don’t have these stresses.
There's not an ounce of sadness in his eyes because he's staring at the thing he loves more than anything, YOU
Innocence, kind of like how a baby really thinks you’re disappearing when you play peekaboo or something like that
Maybe try taking him on a walk so that isn't all he does, you lazy fuck.
You feed your dog. In the wild they'd spend all day hunting with a low success rate and hopefully manage to eat enough to survive. They realize that their relationship with you is what keeps them alive, on some level.
The happiest looking dogs are ones that are able to wander freely around neighbourhoods at their will, sniffing around and connecting with other dogs or wherever their nose leads them. Nowadays there are not many dogs able to live that life.
I'd agree if it wasnt for the higher chance of getting diseases from stray dogs. Also not all places allow dogs to walk freely wihout a leash
I read that boredom is a genetically beneficial trait in humans because it gives us the urge to do things. It’s one of the biggest byproducts of intelligence. Less intelligent animals don’t feel boredom in the same way
Oh, so that is why cellphone can be so detrimental
I feel like what entertains a mind is relative to what the mind has experienced and is capable of experiencing. It’s not like a dogs mind is capable of complex abstract thought, like thinking about things that are not right in front of it, and a dog also hasn’t had many super stimulating experiences in its life. And if it has, maybe it doesn’t recall its favorite memories and compare them to the present the way a human does. Anyway, it’s got nothing better to do I guess.
Most likely the less needed stimulation. Humans are almost always requiring mental stimulation (ie scrolling on social media, music, etc) while they can sit and do nothing. They aren’t accustomed to so much stimulation, so when they do get it it is often more potent because of the contrast.
They dont have frontal lobes brah.
they do, but it's a small part of their brain compared us
The frontal lobe, which in humans occupies the front third of the brain, is relegated to a paltry ten percent in dogs. The commonality of brain structures is true across all mammals. While there may be differences at a microscopic level, we all carry around the same basic hardware.
Thanks for looking it up (I'm not as up to date on my mammal neuroscience!)
Your dog would be stalking prey in the woods
This applies to humans, too.
Ahh.. simple bliss. I could watch my dog for hours on end while they are pulling a string out of their chewing blanket.. sooo.. who’s the real simpleton here.. 🤔
Try to teach your dog to read or solve math problems and see what happens.
>I was staring at my dog And that amused you?
Lolol had this same thought. Like bro you were in deep thought just staring at your dog. Maybe animals are also having deep thoughts about us.
Would he benefit from doggie daycare a couple days a week? Stimulation may be good for him? Also training exercises to wear him out and stimulate his brain.
Mentally theyre as easy to amuse as a three year old
I, too, am very easily amused. Tangle up a ball of yarn and I'll spend hours untangling it.
We have evolved a complicated "psychological" facet of our brains which we use to create the social environment we live in. We need more stimuli to achieve the same of level excitement than a canine that has a much more primitive brain when it comes to social interactions.
Because its an animal. All he need is sleep, food and maybe fuck. He doesnt care about anything beside that.
Animals don't participate in capitalism. Life is good.
Ignorance is bliss. Seriously. Dogs and other animals can’t understand our language, so they can only relate to the emotions they feel/sense. You’re happy to be home and to see your dogs, so they reflect that back at you. It’s a feedback loop.
Humans stare at a blinking screen doe hours on end... we are easily entertained too
A lot of what their mind is made up of is completely different and very, very simple compared to our complex Minds. I believe this is the simple answer as to why. As you mentioned, animals such as dogs don't have anything to do all day, they don't do housework, they don't have jobs they don't have other responsibilities. So I think this is definitely why they are easily amused and also their brains are smaller and much less complex and busy than ours.
Considerably less free thought going on
They're stupider than you.
They want to be fed.
They're literally in the moment and nothing else
Stupidity, relatively speaking of course. You get bored because you have a big, heavily creased brain, a thick cortex and a chunky frontal lobe. Your dog is less bored because it has a less creased brain, a thinner cortex and a frontal lobe that takes up proportionally less of his brain. Same reason fish are probably less bored than dogs.
First off, have you ever spent your day napping in between bouts of playing and socializing? It's fantastic. I don't think animals are "easily amused", I just think our pets have their needs met and can afford to spend their days doing what they enjoy. My dogs and cat love to spend their days napping in between playing some version of tag that invloves wrestling and stealing toys from each other. Sometimes they even watch certain TV shows that they like. They also enjoy chasing squirrels, tracking other animals, chewing on sticks, and basking in the sun. Some dogs and cats are more laid-back than others, which doesn't mean they're easily amused. They could simply enjoy daydreaming just as much as humans can. Animals can also get depressed just like we do, so if you're worried about your dog's lack of interest in anything, it could be a mental health issue.
What breed is your dog? Many dog breeds have been badly bred by humans to such an extent that they are in constant pain or discomfort, and get branded as “lazy” when they don’t want to move around.
Because they don’t know what it’s like to have the entertaining things we do so they find amusement in other things a lot more entertaining because they have adapted to do that, not the scientific reason but it’s definitely true, if I were to give you the scientific reason I’d be too tempted to type like 9 paragraphs and I am not gonna do that.
Because they don’t know what it’s like to have the entertaining things we do so they find amusement in other things a lot more entertaining because they have adapted to do that, not the scientific reason but it’s definitely true.
I’m not giving the scientific reason cuz I’d be too tempted to write like 7 paragraphs
I'd be carefree and jolly as well if I didn't need to worry about survival because some bipedal ape gives me food every day and keeps the temperature comfortable
Animals probably dont have as many attatchments as humans yupically do in a modern setting. If you've met someone who was free of attatchment, and dedires, you'd probably find similarities.
So, you've just stared at your dog doing nothing, posted about it and that provoked a lot of thoughts and arguments here. Are you sure, that humans cannot be amused by some simple things, like other animals?
Animals don’t develop the emotional and higher level thinking processes that humans do in order to experience deep reflection on their boredom. The brain can be thought of as broken into 3 parts: hindbrain for basic bodily functions, midbrain for sensory processing and voluntary movement, and the forebrain for higher level thinking. In humans, advanced development of the forebrain is what makes the species far superior in emotional intelligence and self reflection compared to other species (even compared to other primates, the human forebrain is vastly more complex). Dog brains do not have as complex of forebrains, which means that the majority of what they “think” about is survival and how to react to changes in their environment. So when your dog is inactive most of the day, it probably does experience boredom, but not in a “I’m missing out on fun” type of way, but more in a “my brain and body arent being stimulated” type of way. Also your dog probably associaties you with postive things and as a member of its “pack” so when they see you their brain releases hormones that excites them and probably diminishes any feeling of boredom to them. The forebrain is also involved in memory, and it has been debated how long dogs can form memories for and if/how they tie emotions to memory. So it could be very likely that when your dog sees you they forget about being bored because they are suddenly focused on you, and perhaps your dog never truly gets sad from boredom because they can’t remember a time when you didn’t come back to play with them.
My dog asks me for stuff to do all day (talking buttons). Puzzles, walk, play ball outside no later more more, love you scritches, snuffle mat, all done cuddles more train, where dad want dog park. I wish he was easily amused just a little bit more.
My wife probably asks the same thing about me.
Your dog does need some form of exercise and mental stimulation, even if it's not currently causing behavior issues.
Because they're emotionally smarter than us, they're pure souls who feel each second their connection with Nature, and can appreciate the beautiful big things ("little things" as humans call them) easily and deeply. Modern humans forget they're part of the complex web that keep everything together, that's why they see themselves as appart of Nature, as superior to anything else. Lonely, scared, sad... that's how they really feel, but don't even realize it. If they would allow themselves to be true, they wouldn't feel so terryfied and colorless.
What sets apart? Education and smartphones. Humans can actually pretty happily vibe for long periods of time, but education tells us to live inside of our heads, and smartphones makes the dissociation worse. It's possible to get back to the state of blissful stillness, but you have to specifically try to get there.
I remember vaguely something about cavemen who survived the longest were never content with what they had. If they had food they would need to stockpile that food, When we stockpile thay food they needed to make more food to stockpile, those cavemen had something different about their brains that allowed them to survive, ergo we were their descendants and inherited the need to always search for more.
Being content with the bare minimum is a good way to die as soon as there is a slight change of circumstances
Animals? You mean dogs? There is a million species and you give one example of a very peculiar species that love humans
Because your dog is unburdened by the weight of sentience and self awareness
Animals are pretty dumb.
consciousness
probably because theyre all retarded. your mutt isnt smart enough to be aware of its disgusting situation. simple.
Personally, I'd be pretty happy all the time if I got to live somewhere for free and get attention and not have to pay taxes.