Dogs as Our Teachers: What Jane Goodall Can Remind Us About Our Companions

"Jane, you cannot talk about animals having personalities, minds and emotions, those are unique to us."

When Jane Goodall first began working with chimpanzees, she was told she was doing it all wrong. Professors scolded her for giving the chimpanzees names instead of numbers. Jane was told that animals didn’t have personalities, minds, or emotions.

They warned her that empathy had no place in science..

But Jane knew better. She had already learned, through a teacher in her childhood, that what these professors were saying was incorrect. And she reminded us all that “we are not the only beings on the planet with personalities, minds and emotions.”

That truth isn’t reserved for chimpanzees in the forests of Gombe. It’s sitting right beside you on the couch. It’s tugging at the leash on your afternoon walk. It’s watching you with bright eyes that hold more than instinct, eyes that also hold thought, feeling, memory, joy, worry, and wonder.

Jane's words are a reminder to us that our dogs feel. They think. They care. They share. They problem-solve. They adapt. They learn. And, just like Jane’s chimpanzees, they each carry unique personalities that make them who they are.

The challenge, as well as the gift, is that we need to slow down enough to notice it.

To pay attention not just to what we want from every one of our dogs, but what they are communicating back to us. To see them not as training projects, but as teachers.

And that's because it's every day, our dogs remind us to:

Be present in the moment because dogs are pros at this.

Celebrate small joys and communicate with more than words.

Practice empathy over obedience and kindness over impatience.

Training has its place, of course it does. But when we only focus on what we want our dogs to be or how we wish they were, we risk missing the bigger lesson. Our dogs are constantly showing us that relationships are built on trust, understanding, and compassion.

Jane Goodall’s courage to nurture what others refused to see changed the way the world thought about animals. In our own homes, we can carry her lesson forward: our dogs are not numbers, not blank slates, not just pets. They are feeling, thinking beings who deserve to be nurtured, appreciated, and understood.

And if we’re willing to listen, they’ll teach us more than we could ever imagine.

On October 1, 2025, the world lost a pioneer, a compassionate scientist, and a tireless advocate: Dr. Jane Goodall passed away at 91, while on a speaking tour in California.

Jane challenged the established norms and taught us to see animals as more than objects of study. Her legacy continues not only in scientific research and conservation, but also in the everyday ways we connect with the animals who share our lives. When we honour her work by listening to our dogs, by treating them with care and understanding, and by seeing them as teachers rather than just pets, we keep her vision alive.

May her life’s work inspire us to nurture the relationships we share with all animals, and may we always remember that empathy, curiosity, and respect are at the heart of how we should live with them.

Thank you Jane