12:16 p.m.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016 12:16 pm

You can tell when they're happy ... or sad. (Courtesy photo)

Reprinted courtesy of stevedalepetworld.com

Dr. Jaak Panksepp has confirmed with science what pet owners have known for hundreds and likely thousands of years .... our pets have emotions.
I was honored to sit down to talk with Panksepp, who was the Key Note Speaker at the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists Veterinary Behavior Symposium, held this past year in San Antonio, TX in conjunction with the Convention of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Panksepp has authored many scientific papers, and books including, "Affecting Neuroscience: The Foundation of Human and Animal Emotions," and "Psychology of Neurobiology of Empathy (Psychology of Emotions, Motivations and Actions)."
He learned how to stimulate rats to elicit high-frequency chirps identified as rat laughter, so he's known by some as the rat tickler.
Of course, dogs have emotions
Panksepp has charted seven networks of emotion in the brains of mammals:
Seeking
Rage
Fear
Lust
Care
Panic/Grief
Play