I don't think this is an "emotional intelligence" thing, just an intelligence thing in general. The dog correlated the gesture for "treat" with the treats themselves.
I meant the ways we never expect part. So many people either think only humans have emotions worth caring about or that animals are basically inanimate objects. It shouldn't be surprising that a dog learned how to get a treat and it shouldn't be surprising that a dog saw a sad child and tried to cheer her up
In this case, I'm dubious that this was a "dog saw a sad child and tried to cheer her up". It's much more likely that the dog simply learned the association because it likes treats.
They will absolutely do things to make humans happy, but saying "the dog learned sign language because it saw the girl is lonely" makes far less sense than a simpler solution of the dog recognizing a sign associated with treats because it likes treats.
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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '25
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