Is emotional well being observable in a dog? - Page 4

Joan you presented a number of pictures with the photographer being far away from the dog. My issue is that if you are within 5 feet of your dog...the dog is obviously not focus in on anything else.. but does not even bat an eyelid on the near by owner.
Show me how it is logical that this set of observations can only be explained by self confidence and not by the notion of a active bond between dog and owner?

+1 joan and susie, well said.
Pictures are so subjective, can't really make a correct observation on one snap shot.
For sure agree emotional well being is observable, pictures just aren't always accurate.

Mithuna, when walking your dog(she is within 5 feet of you) is she always focused 120% on you? Does she look at other people, dogs, etc?
In a picture you are getting a split second moment. Perhaps something caught the dog's eye?

hntr

I can post 100 different pics taken 100 different times with my dog responding identically on every occasion. My own argument is that the consistency of the 100 responses can be explained by the notion of a bond. Can some body explain why not?

susie; I love jack N in movies also. Is he as crazy as his character in '' As good as it gets''? Who is crazier? the guy in "" The shinning ''or ''as good as it gets''? You do not see Jack N at the LA Laker Basket balls games any more because they are losers and he is not that crazy.

I have had GSDs for decades and I do not have 100 pictures of any individual dog. Maybe my dogs and myself have a life. Why do you worry about your dog's or any other dogs Emotions. Are you the guy in '' As good as it gets''? do you obsess?

Different strokes for different folks, just because a dog is housed outdoors, does not mean it is penned in a six foot by 10 foot run lol.

My own dogs have access to my fenced in land/garden, and they can access there kennel when ever they want to.

I treat my working dogs like dogs, and thouroughly recommend to all buyers off my pups, that they give there dog outdoor access at the very least - for a large part of the day.

Apart from anything else, fresh air and the stimulation they get from being dogs, only enhances the relationship with there pack leader. (owner)

I personally, don't encourage or want a clingy, needy fur ball, whose incredibly efficient working coat was never designed for centraly heated houses. 

But as I said at the top - different strokes for different folks.

Gee

So if you see a photo of a baby crying, do you assume his life sucks and he has a horrible abusive family?
You are comparing ONE photo of ONE dog to 100 photos of your dog.
I do think emotional well being is measurable, but not by one photo when you don't know the whole "picture" behind it. The dog is just sitting, not cowering in fear or in avoidance. Dogs sit, its normal.

"...an insecure dog may be focussed on the owner
the whole day..." because it is stressed and looking
to the owner to reassure it and lessen that stress, - it
cannot 'take the lead' and decide things / courses of
action for itself. This is why all domestic dogs need
human leadership, and a few canids in the wild state
become 'pack leader' (while others remain 'followers').
The greater the degree of independence in the individual
dog, the less it needs to keep its eyes glued on the owner
- but even a dog with really solid nerves and an independent
('dominant') streak still wants to look to its owner SOME of
the time.
A dog which really trusts you will accept your role as its
'boss' more completely than a nerve-bag dog. As to the
living conditions, having lived with both inside dogs and
kennel-dogs, in my opinion there is absolutely no difference
on this particular score - they either bond properly with you
or they don't; I think there are differences between dogs
that live 'in' or 'out', but not in the case of looking for
leadership versus independence & self-sufficiency. Whether
an individual dog has its needs for that supportive leadership
fully met if it has to live in a kennel is a moot point.
And no, I do not believe anybody can reliably determine this
from still photoshots of the dog, even a dog they themselves
know well.

Both Jack Torrance and Rin Tin Tin are movie characters, they are not real.
A dog is a dog.