Can dogs really cry? You may think that's the case when your dog is whining non-stop and isn't very happy that you're about to leave him. You get sad because you think he's crying — but is he really crying like humans do? You'll get the answer here!

Whether it’s body language, tail movement and position, staring, or making a wide range of vocalizations, our dogs are almost always telling us something. It seems easy to recognize when a dog is happy; but do we recognize when they are sad, grieving, or in pain with such facility? Do dogs cry?

Let’s start with the basics and build from there:

Do dogs have tear ducts?
Can dogs cry emotional tears?
Are whimpering, howling, or whining similar to crying?
Do dogs respond to our tears?
Do dogs have tear ducts?
Absolutely. Anyone who owns a light- or white-coated dog — the Bichon-Frises, Maltese, and Poodles of the world among them — can easily attest that dogs do indeed have tear ducts. They know because the phenomenon of tear staining that develops with age is effectively written on the body. Tear staining is also known as epiphora, a condition in which dogs experience excessive tear production.

Can dogs cry emotional tears?

Epiphora is a medical condition that gives the impression of a crying dog.
Does dog crying ever signify distress, sympathy, or pain? The answer is complex and unsatisfactory for those of us who want to see our life experience mirrored by our dogs. While the outward manifestation of emotion we associate with crying is not found in dogs, this does not mean that dogs are stoic or unmoved. They simply experience and express those emotional states in different ways.

Are whimpering, howling, or whining similar to crying?

For dogs, barking, whining, whimpering, and howling tend to be oriented toward expressions of need or having distinct desires met. Dog vocalizations are, by and large, communicative rather than emotional. Dogs whine and whimper when they want food or exercise. They bark and howl when they sense strangers or perceive threats. There is reason to be suspicious of these vocalizations, though. Dogs learn behaviors, after all. When they discover that making certain noises yields desired results, it can become not only repetitive, but manipulative. It is safe to say that howls, whines, and whimpers are similar, but not equivalent to human crying.

Do dogs respond to our tears?
Because dogs don’t express grief, sorrow, longing, loss, rage, or joy through their tear ducts, that doesn’t mean they are stoic or emotionless. We know that dogs suffer negatively from separation anxiety, fear, and stress. I can speak from personal experience that dogs do respond when their humans are in distress.

Well, even though it may seem like dogs can cry, it appears that they don't shed tears for emotional reasons. Either way, we do know for a fact that dogs are emotional creatures, they just show it in a different way! They have big hearts and they know what it means to protect us when we're in trouble, empathize with us when we're going through a hard time, and be our BFF's!

If you want to learn more information about doggy tears, visit Dogster.