Study confirms dogs get jealous when you show affection to another pet

Any dog owner who’s tried cuddling a neighbor’s pet or cooing over a stranger’s puppy knows the look: wide eyes, stiff posture, a sudden nudge of the nose or perhaps a not-so-subtle whine. For years, these reactions have been chalked up to loyalty, protectiveness, or even charm. But what if they’re something more complex? What if dogs, like humans, feel jealousy not just as a fleeting impulse, but as a true emotional response rooted in their social bond with us?

A new study from the University of Auckland brings scientific rigor to this long-debated topic, confirming what many have suspected all along: dogs exhibit behaviors consistent with jealousy, even in the absence of visible cues. This discovery marks a significant shift in how we understand the emotional capacities of our canine companions, suggesting that their inner lives may be far more layered than we give them credit for.

Scientific Validation of Canine Jealousy

For years, dog owners have shared stories of their pets displaying jealous behaviors whether it’s barking when another dog is being petted, wedging themselves between their human and a rival, or pulling on the leash at the sight of shared affection. Now, new research offers concrete validation of those anecdotes. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Auckland, published in Psychological Science, confirms that dogs do indeed exhibit jealous behavior when their owners show affection to another perceived companion. What’s more striking is that these reactions persist even when the dogs cannot see the interaction, suggesting a level of emotional processing and imagination that had not been previously confirmed in canines.

In the experiment, 18 dogs were presented with two scenarios: one where they saw their owner interacting with a lifelike fake dog, and another where the interaction occurred behind a barrier, hidden from view. In both cases, the dogs attempted to reach their owners with forceful movements, indicating distress or agitation triggered by the perceived social threat. A control test was also conducted using a fleece cylinder, an object devoid of social significance. Here, dogs showed notably less interest or effort, reinforcing the conclusion that their jealous reactions were directed at perceived social rivals, not simply any interaction involving their owner. Remarkably, the dogs exerted similar amounts of force whether they could see the fake dog or not, indicating they were able to mentally represent the jealousy-inducing scenario even without visual cues.

Lead researcher Amalia Bastos explained that these findings mirror human jealousy in meaningful ways. In humans, children jealousy emerges as a complex emotional response tied to self-awareness and social bonding, a characteristic not widely attributed to animals. The dogs in this study displayed three hallmarks of human-like jealousy: they reacted only when their owner interacted with a social rival, not a neutral object; their behavior was linked directly to the interaction, not just the rival’s presence; and they reacted even when the interaction was out of sight. While the researchers are careful to note that this does not confirm dogs experience jealousy identically to humans, the evidence suggests a more sophisticated emotional life than previously assumed. As Bastos noted, “It is too early to say whether dogs experience jealousy as we do, but it is now clear that they react to jealousy-inducing situations, even if these occur out-of-sight.”

How the Study Was Designed to Avoid Bias

To ensure the findings were grounded in scientific rigor rather than anecdotal interpretations, the research team at the University of Auckland took deliberate steps to control for external variables that might skew results. By incorporating a neutral object, a fleece cylinder, as a control in the experiment, they were able to demonstrate that dogs’ jealous behaviors were not simply reactions to any interaction involving their owner. The inclusion of the fake dog, designed to simulate a real social rival, allowed researchers to isolate jealousy-specific reactions from general curiosity or attention-seeking. The fact that the dogs pulled with significantly more force toward their owner when a fake dog was involved, as opposed to an inanimate object, served as a strong behavioral indicator of jealousy.

Another critical component of the study was the use of visual barriers, which helped assess whether dogs could mentally simulate or imagine jealousy-inducing scenarios. This element distinguished the study from earlier investigations that mostly focused on observable, in-the-moment behavior. When dogs continued to exhibit signs of agitation and made physical efforts to reach their owner even when the rival was hidden from view, it suggested an advanced cognitive capacity. The dogs were not merely reacting to what they could see but appeared to process the emotional implications of what might be happening beyond the barrier. This challenges the long-held assumption that animals live only in the present moment without the ability to mentally construct unseen scenarios.

By testing both visible and non-visible interactions, and comparing responses to social and non-social stimuli, the study created a comprehensive framework for interpreting canine emotion. The consistency of the dogs’ responses across the different experimental conditions bolstered the conclusion that the emotion involved was not random arousal or generalized excitement but a targeted, jealousy-related reaction. The study’s design did more than confirm a behavior—it offered a window into how dogs process complex social dynamics. This methodological precision strengthens the credibility of the findings and opens the door for deeper research into animal emotions beyond the more easily studied primary responses like fear or joy.

Understanding Animal Emotions

The discovery that dogs can mentally represent and react to social threats out of sight contributes significantly to the evolving field of animal cognition. Traditionally, emotions such as jealousy were considered exclusive to humans or certain primates, largely because of their link to self-awareness and complex social relationships. However, findings like those from the Auckland study challenge this anthropocentric view and suggest that other species may share more of our emotional architecture than once believed. Understanding these behaviors in dogs, one of the most socially bonded animals to humans, may be particularly revealing given their co-evolution with people over thousands of years.

Jealousy is considered a “secondary emotion,” meaning it arises from the interpretation of social relationships rather than basic survival needs. This categorization places it alongside emotions like embarrassment, pride, and guilt—feelings often assumed to require a sense of self. If dogs can feel something akin to jealousy, it suggests they may also possess a form of emotional self-concept, even if it’s not equivalent to human self-awareness. This could have profound implications not only for how we interact with pets but for how we understand the inner lives of animals more broadly. It also nudges us to reconsider the moral and ethical frameworks we apply to animal welfare, recognizing that their social bonds carry emotional stakes.

Researchers in animal behavior and psychology have long sought to identify which species exhibit secondary emotions and under what conditions. The fact that jealousy in dogs only emerged in scenarios involving their bonded human, rather than any human or random situation, points to the relational specificity of the emotion. This makes it more than a simple case of displaced aggression or territoriality. Instead, it reflects the emotional depth of the dog-human relationship, suggesting that pets don’t just coexist with us. They participate in social bonds rich with emotional content. As researchers continue to explore these dimensions, our understanding of dogs may evolve from viewing them as responsive companions to recognizing them as emotionally expressive beings with their own subjective experiences.

The Human–Dog Bond Through a New Lens

These findings reaffirm the emotional intensity of the bond many people feel with their dogs, but they also bring new perspective to how that bond functions. Dogs are not passive recipients of affection. They are emotionally engaged partners in the relationship. The fact that they can detect and react to subtle shifts in attention or affection highlights how attuned they are to human behavior. This has long been noted by dog owners anecdotally, but the scientific validation adds a new level of seriousness to those observations. It also emphasizes the responsibility owners have to manage their interactions with fairness and empathy, especially in multi-pet households where attention is shared.

Understanding that a dog may feel jealousy doesn’t necessarily mean one should avoid showing affection to other animals, but it does suggest that dogs are capable of feeling socially threatened or insecure. This may manifest in behavioral changes such as restlessness, vocalization, or withdrawal—signs that are often misunderstood or dismissed. With this new understanding, pet owners can take more conscious steps to reassure their dogs and reinforce the security of their bond, particularly when introducing new pets or sharing attention. Emotional wellbeing, not just physical health, becomes a meaningful aspect of responsible pet care.

Additionally, the findings may have implications for training and behavioral therapy. Dogs that display aggression or separation anxiety might, in some cases, be reacting to perceived social rivalries or disruptions in attention rather than generalized fear or poor training. Recognizing the role of jealousy can help trainers and veterinarians develop more nuanced interventions that account for the emotional context of a dog’s behavior. Rather than interpreting all disruptive behavior as dominance or disobedience, we can begin to see some of it as emotionally motivated responses that deserve empathy and structured support. This shift in perspective may foster more compassionate, effective human–animal relationships.

A Call to Empathy and Deeper Connection

At a time when science continues to reveal the cognitive and emotional complexity of animals, findings like these offer more than just novelty; they invite us to reconsider how we relate to the beings that share our lives. When you recognize jealousy in a dog, you see that their emotional life goes far beyond simple behaviors. As our understanding deepens, so too should our responsibility to respond with empathy, attentiveness, and care. Dogs may not speak our language, but their behaviors often say more than we realize and now, science is helping translate those messages with clarity.

This insight also challenges us to approach pet ownership not just as caretaking, but as a dynamic, emotionally reciprocal relationship. Just as we value loyalty, affection, and presence in our own emotional lives, dogs appear to do the same. Their reactions to perceived threats to those bonds are not manipulative or exaggerated; they are rooted in a sincere emotional response. By recognizing this, we create space to care for a dog’s emotional health as carefully as we care for their body.

Ultimately, the study affirms what many dog lovers have long intuited but may have struggled to articulate: our dogs are not just companions—they are emotionally invested beings who care deeply about how we care for them. As more research sheds light on the depth of their inner lives, we are invited into a richer, more respectful partnership. In a world where empathy is increasingly seen as a virtue, perhaps there’s no better place to practice it than with the four-legged companions already by our side.