Since jealousy often involves complex cognitive processes, it is generally believed that humans are the only species that experience this emotion. However, from a standard point of view, one may anticipate that other social animals, particularly those intellectually developed as the dog, might show an emotion developed to protect social relationships from newcomers. The current study examined jealousy in domestic dogs by using a paradigm from research on human infants. The research discovered that when their owners showed loving behaviors towards what looked to be another dog as opposed to nonsocial items, dogs showed much more jealous behaviors.

 

While the Chihuahua is small and adaptable, they’re one of the neediest dog breeds in existence. Jealousy is a big part of the Chihuahua’s personality and something that makes them quite incompatible with children

 

These fiery little dogs love to love, but also require the same amount of attention in return. Often when a newborn enters the household the Chihuahua will become jealous of the child’s attention, and turn inwards. In the worst cases, they’re unkind to the children altogether. But it’s not just newborns. Even if a Chihuahua was raised alongside children, they’re smart enough to know when they’re not receiving attention, and they’ll become a bit more domineering.

 

Coco is jealous, he gets jealous when anyone approaches my mom. In my house when I hug my mom he gets jealous and starts jumping and trying to get her attention. Another interesting behavior coco has shown is when we are watching a movie or sitting in the common he always tries to squeeze between me and my mom. While writing this blog I noticed that most of the jealous behaviors coco shows are only between me and my mom, it doesn’t happen with my dad, which is interesting.

 

According to experts, jealous behaviors in pets typically suggest boredom or a ploy for attention from their owners. “Sometimes, just like people, they can feel insecure (Broderick).” They need individual attention, lots of cuddling, and activities to keep them busy and to keep them from being bored. Sometimes, our pets just want us, and they don’t want to share us with another pet or person.

Comparisons of the proportion of dogs exhibiting each type of behavior in each of the three experimental conditions.


 

 

 

 

Harris, C. R., & Prouvost, C. (2014). Jealousy in dogs. PloS one, 9(7), e94597. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094597

 

Brennan, K. (2019, March 5). Chihuahua temperament & Personality: Canna-PET®. Canna. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://canna-pet.com/articles/chihuahua-temperament-personality/

 

Empire, chihuahua (Ed.). (2021, November 24). Do chihuahuas get jealous? Chihuahua Empire. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://chihuahuaempire.com/blogs/chihuahua-blog/do-chihuahuas-get-jealous