Do dogs miss their owners

Answer 1

In a way. It is called separation anxiety. Dogs think of their owners as their leaders and when their owner leaves them alone they do not know what to do without their leaders so become kind of lost and anxious. They usually end up chewing things up and breaking things. They often chew things which smell like their leader/owner such as clothes and shoes. Which is where the stereotype of dogs wanting to eat shoes comes from. Sometimes, however, chewing is caused by boredom which, like separation anxiety, comes from being left alone by their owner.

Answer 2

For some dogs there is a definite bond with the previous owner and they miss them a lot until they bond with the new owner. There are documented cases of dogs traveling many miles to rejoin their owner.


Dogs are naturally pack animals and they build bonds with their owners as being part of the pack or family. The type of relationship established will determine how tight the bond is. The tightest bond are between owners who assert themselves as leaders with their dogs. This can be taught directly or can be a simple by product of structured attention or the time spent with the dog. Dog are also habitual creatures that would prefer not to change the habits they learn. Since a relationship with a human can be a major part of a dog's environment...ie: feeding, sleeping, caring for or even the dog defending or protecting the human, this relationship becomes very strong and the dog is actually dependent on it as part of it's daily habits. A dog is an environmentally responsive animal and is controlled by it environment. Because of this they will seek out a familiar environment sometimes even if this is not a good environment from our perspective. An example of this would be the bond developed between a harsh and sometimes physically abusive owner and his/her dog. There is still a lot to learn about dogs and why they react the way they do. It is a difficult subject to research or find credible information on because humans tend to want to interject their emotional understanding onto the canine mindset and most of the time it simply is an error to do so! Hope this helped you understand. Dr. Hogan