A common misconception often leads to the belief that emotions are a characteristic of human beings and that other animals are incapable of experiencing emotions and having feelings; of course, this is not the case at all. Emotions represent basic attitudes and their function is to enable the entire body to react immediately to the various circumstances in which the individual may find themselves. Emotions are caused by the current situation, i.e. by what is happening to the dog, in relation to the value that the individual attaches to the situation, based on expectations or memories. For example, we have: joy or happiness when the dog experiences the situation as pleasant, fear or anxiety when, on the contrary, it thinks that something unpleasant is going to happen, surprise when the new situation is attractive, alertness when, on the contrary, a threat is perceived, sadness or bitterness can be traced back to disappointments or the occurrence of an unpleasant event, confidence or vitality when the individual is in a state of full responsiveness and behavioural range. In order to correctly identify the dog's emotional state, it is necessary to know the signals it sends out when it is in a particular state. There are physical signals, such as lowering or raising the tail, raising the coat, adopting a certain facial expression, barking or growling, which show us the dog's emotional state. Some emotions accelerate the heart rate, others slow it down, just as some bring blood to the organs and others to the peripheral areas of the body. Emotions lead to the secretion of specific pheromones and change the physiology of the organism. Emotions are also influenced by the individual's state of mind, which always depends on the general well-being of the body, such as sleep or nutrition. Finally, let us not forget that in order to be emotionally balanced, the dog needs to engage in activities, precisely in order to relax, otherwise it will always be overloaded.