Dogs cannot express their sadness or overwhelming joy in tears. As a form of crying in a dog, we can consider howling, screeching or huddling into a ball. However, poochs have the ability to produce tears. In this case, the tears are to moisturize the pooch’s eyes or remove impurities or pollen from them.
What you will learn in this article
- A dog’s tears do not express the emotions he feels
- A dog’s eye produces tears to moisturize or cleanse itself
- As a dog cry, we can consider howling, squeaking, or huddling into a ball
Can your dog cry?
Expressing emotions is one of the key elements of dog communication. Four-legged friends feel a huge range of feelings, largely identical to those that accompany both you and me in life. Have you ever wondered if dogs cry?
For people, tears are a sign of sadness and sometimes joy. Is it the same for our four-legged friends then? A dog’s crying is still perceived as somewhat of a mystery. Considering how important role tears play in showing emotions in our lives, it is worth paying attention to this aspect in our dogs.
Therefore, I want to answer the question of whether a dog can cry, and whether your four-legged friend has tears at all.
Does the dog have tears?
In the beginning, let’s focus on answering the question of whether the dog has the ability to produce tears at all. The answer is absolutely affirmative.
A dog’s eyes have tear ducts, which are responsible for the formation of tears. Their system of operation is very similar to what we have in our eyes.
So overall, your pooch has the ability to produce tears. However, note that tears and crying are not the same. It is worth paying attention to when we deal with this issue in relation to our four-legged friends.
Human tears are very often a natural reflex of the eye that needs to be moisturized or wants to get rid of some foreign body. This does not mean that we will call such situations crying. Why? Because it is a natural reaction of the body that is not driven by our personal emotions.
So let’s think about why a dog’s eyes produce tears?
Does my dog cry?
While focusing on the dog’s tears, let’s think about whether the dogs can cry. This is a very important point when we consider our pets’ feelings and how they show their emotions.
The dog cannot cry in the generally accepted sense of the word. Your pooch is not able to react with tears to express important feelings to him. For us, the body’s natural response to great sadness is to cry. The same is true when we are deeply moved by something. A dog’s body does not react this way to the strong emotions it experiences.
I realize that this can be somewhat disappointing for many guardians. I was a bit surprised by the fact that my pooch does not show his emotions in the same way as I do. When I saw that my pooch was sad for some reason, looking at him subconsciously, it seemed to me that I could see tears in his eyes. Today I know that it was not possible.
Showing emotions by crying is typically human behaviour. Pets cannot show what they feel in this way. This does not mean, however, that they are unfamiliar with the concept of crying. On the contrary. We can very often find animals crying. Also dogs. However, this is not the kind of crying we know well, which is related to tears.
So to answer the key question, Can Dogs Cry? Yes, but not with tears. You’re probably wondering, then, how does your four-legged friend cry? Personally, I believe that this is important knowledge if you are a dog’s guardian. It’s good to know how your pooch expresses such important emotions as joy and sadness.
Thanks to this, you can react to a given situation in such a way that your pooch feels important and cared for. When he starts crying, in his own canine way, you shouldn’t leave your pet feeling alone.
How the dog cries
You already know that with your four-legged friend, tears don’t mean crying. The doggy does not express his sadness or other emotions by crying in the form we know from everyday life.
This does not mean, however, that dogs do not experience strong emotions, and therefore they do not cry at all. On the contrary. Dogs cry very often, you have certainly witnessed this behaviour in a dog more than once, but you were not aware of what it meant.
Then let’s answer the question of how a dog cries, if not through tears. In the case of a dog, we can consider several pooch’s behaviours as crying.
Your pet can express his sadness by cowering and hiding its mouth. In this way, the doggy wants to separate himself from the outside world and be able to stay only with himself.
Squeaking sounds can be a sign of a dog’s very strong sadness. It sounds a bit different than squeaking due to physical pain or a dog communicating his needs. It’s much quieter and seems to sound like the pooch doesn’t want anyone to hear him squeal. He does it as if he wants to leave it for himself.
A long and prolonged howl can also be considered a dog’s cry. Dogs act this way most often when left alone at home. It is especially intense in the case of dogs suffering from separation anxiety. Then the dog’s howl is really loud and almost incessant.
If you want to learn more about what a dog’s separation anxiety is and how to deal with it, please refer to my other article from this blog.
Dog tears
Your dog doesn’t express his emotions by crying with tears. However, as I mentioned before, this does not mean that your four-legged friend’s eyes are not producing tears at all. On the contrary. Dogs have tear ducts, which are responsible for the formation of tears.
However, if in the case of a dog his tears do not imply great joy or sadness, then what is their purpose? Dog tears act as a lubricant for his eye, much like it works for humans. Both your eyes and your pooch’s eyes need to be constantly moisturized. If they are too dry, the body automatically produces tears.
The tears in dogs also have a cleansing function. They help to get rid of impurities or pollen that has got into your pet’s eye. This way, the pooch’s body tries to avoid eye damage on its own.
Excessive tear production by the dog
If your pooch does not express his emotions by crying, what does over-production of tears mean in his case? If you notice that your dog’s eyes are foggy and watering intensely, something may be wrong.
It could be a symptom of your four-legged friend’s conjunctivitis or eye inflammation. In such a situation, go to the vet as soon as possible for a check-up.
Dog crying
While dogs don’t express their sadness through their tears, that doesn’t mean they don’t experience strong emotions. They just express them in a completely different way than we humans do.
A dog’s eyes have tear ducts, so his body can produce tears. However, they are not the same as crying. They are used to cleanse and moisturize the dog’s eye.
How does your pooch show a great deal of sadness that you can classify as crying?
If you have any questions for me, want me to bring up a topic in the next post, be sure to share it in the comments section.