Do dogs think for themselves?
This is a wonderful question and one too of great controversy! Most of us who own and love dogs are quick to say…OF COURSE THEY DO and then proceed to list the huge number of things that our dogs have done and do to substantiate our statement. The answer to the actual surface question is YES, dogs are capable of thinking for themselves. This is evident in that they utilize some form of Free Will. Choose to lay down for a nap, choose to get up and get a drink, or chew on a toy, or look for treats that may have been left out for them to find while “Mom and/or Dad” is gone to work. EMOTIONS is where it starts to become a HOT topic. Animals as a whole ACT and REACT to stimulations of and from their environment. Not totally different from us humans. Where it starts to diverge is that dogs (and most other animals, NOT including Primates) do NOT have the mental agility to sit around THINKING, planning, plotting…to pay US back for some imagined slight WE think they maybe pissed off about.
