Hi Greg
Jealousy does, in my experience, exist among dogs.
First, step back to what we are defining as jealousy. For me, I’d lean on these from the Merriam Webster dictionary:
*hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage* : envious
*intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness*
*vigilant in guarding a possession* (not a common usage of jealous, at least here in the US) — this could be an object, or — often — guarding a person’s attention, or proximity to a preferred person
I’ve seen all three definitions fit dog behavior. As with people, there are temperament traits that go hand in hand with “jealousy.” I am on alert wherever anxiety or a lack of confidence or non-productive arousal or poor resilience or fear (or a combo of those) are present.
In particular, I would be watching for what would trigger a shift in the dog’s demeanor. A weird human analogy might be if there was a jealous husband, was that triggered just because his wife smiled at another man or does he have to find her naked in bed with another guy? What does it take for the dog to display behavior that indicates they are uncomfortable with what’s happening? What are they afraid of losing? Is someone actually trying to take advantage of them?
Do I think dogs try to please us? Some do. Some don’t. Always good to remember that when we say dogS, that S stands for statistics, and may have nothing to do with an individual dog. So if I ask you, do people try to please us? Which person?? Some do, some don’t. We even have a term for some folks: “people pleaser” and that label indicates that it is not a universal quality!
Some dogs are biddable, agreeable to trying anything for us just because we ask, and doing the best they can. Others want to know what’s in it for them IF they don’t find the activity intrinsically rewarding. And still others — even if reinforced — may be easily bored or disinterested.
CARAT captures biddability as a trait that can be observed and scored.
cheers
Suzanne
