Well, beyond the basic play, eat, and sleep. We can tell the have higher cognative functions because they are pack animals, part of the reason they are such good pets is because they consider us pack. Bonding with other animals from snow leopards, tigers, wolves, foxes, cats, and humans shows that they are adaptable enough to take advantage of making an ally or playmate. There was a study that proved that dogs could tell that we are not just strange looking dogs but they love us anyway. We are not their species or their pups but they are willing to die for us show a great deal of loyalty and forethought. Because not every dog will die for anyone. Those dogs who died saving their owners remembered a history with that person that was worth dying for. They are more than just basic instincts. Dogs have a language, all animals do, humans are simply deaf to it.

I don't know if dogs are so simplistic. Dogs don't always bark in the same way and they do react differently and bark in a different manner when they are with their dog friends. There are these two dogs the live near me and my dog doesn't really like them, when ever they come near the house my dog barks in a certain way but when it's other dogs his bark isn't the same.

I'm not sure could we say that dogs are not that intelligent. In my opinion they can be smarter than people, actually! They have better senses than we do so I bet there has to be a lot of things going on inside of their heads. They might be thinking about who they can trust and when is the next time they're going to get food etc. I bet they sometimes think we're dumb, haha!

One study I've read is that dogs depend on their sense of smell to determine if an odour is favourable to them. In this study, the dogs' brains were studied through MRI. They made them smell human odour and other types of odour. Guess what? They prioritised human odour over anything else. The human odour sparked the "reward" centre of the dogs' brains.

The study also compared dogs and human babies. Whenever a dog is afraid, the tendency for them is to search for comfort from humans. Unlike cats and horses, their tendency is to run away from any human in times of distress or fear. So in that sense, human babies and dogs are the same.

Another article I've read said that dogs do in fact have emotional lives. The difference is, they don't know that we love them. This is a hotly debated issue, as to whether which animals have a theory of mind or the thinking that other beings or species can think as well like them.

I believe dogs have a language but we just do not think of it as a language. They can communicate through their bark and their body language. I think they are complex creatures and have a lot of emotions just as humans do. I think that their thoughts would really differ from ours because we do not live just by instinct. We just cannot imagine what goes on in their mind because we cannot fathom a mind void of words.

I don't think that they have language, but the needs are still the same for humans. They get a signal from their stomach that tells their brain that they are hungry so they go hunting for food and use their other senses to find food the way that we go through our fridge and look for snack to eat.

Dogs can't communicate with us using words, but they will let us know in different ways. They can judge if someone is a bad guy, a threat, or something is about to happen.

They relate how they feel through their gesture. For example, if my dog is hungry or thirsty, and there is nothing in his bowls, he will move the bowls around to make noise to let me know that he wants food/water. If he wants to go outside to do his business, he will come to me and put his down on my lap, then runs to the back door.

I am not sure what's going on in his mind, but he does make sure that his needs are met.

I read somewhere before that they see their owners as god, while cats see themselves as god. This is why dogs are much more loyal than cats haha. On a serious note, I think they live in a very simple world unlike humans. We tend to think too much and over complicate things. For dogs, they know who treats them well, and give their trust and loyalty in return.

This is a pretty fun exercise for your imagination. Obviously some dogs are smarter than others - I'm sure there's nothing but a monkey with cymbals in some puppies' brains.

I really like books that venture into this territory and try to see the world from the perspective of a dog. Examples of novels I really enjoyed are The Art of Racing in the Rain and Rose in a Storm.

My dog is a weirdo, he's a husky and he has this whole alpha male thing going for him. He gets on top of his dog house for everything. I am not exaggerating I mean everything, he pees up there and poops up there. I dont know why he is a strange one. I love him though, what goes on in his head I imagine is "I smell another male somewhere, my poop and pee high enough so my manliness spreads as far as the eye can see.." "Well I cannot climb over this fence I must dig!!!!! Dig deep, she can't stop me from digging! mwwhaha" "Oh she filled the hole with water, I will drink the water and eat the dirt then I will get away." "Drank to much must nap then I will be free." "Oh dinner time, I will escape tomorrow...you will see."

It is nice to think that there is a lot going on in a dogs mind, but I believe that it is probably pretty empty in there. Sure, they think about the important things like food and sleeping but I doubt they think about much more than that, lol! 🙂

When I look at my Belgian Malinois when he lays in his bed, runs around in the garden or just wander around the house I think he has the intellectual capacity of a grade schooler. A kid that enjoys food, play time and knows how to follow instructions. They probably don't think about philosophy or science but I know they're capable of feeling certain degrees of emotion to the level of a deep and harrowing conscience.

Dogs are very intelligent creatures and thats why obedience training is relatively easy compared to other animals. I am very analytical and have had the opportunity to observe dogs up and close. Dogs view humans as higher beings but treat us with subdued respect because they usually witness our idiosyncracies and unpredictable natures especially when naughty kids and frustrated masters chase them away betraying their unconditional trust. View are also able to discern temperament of humans and keep a distance from some people.

I, too, have often wondered what goes on in my dogs mind. He seems simplistic in some ways: eat, sleep, ride in the car, go outside to smell, and sit in my lap. Those are the things that he does day in and day out. But at night, when I watch him sleep and twitch, what is he dreaming about? Is it simply a replay of the days events or something more?