Writer's Block: Regrets Only
I don't think so, no. I think that animals do have feelings but they deal only with the present moment. Happiness and joy or sadness and fear, anger or playfulness, and for pack or herd animals of course loyalty and belonging and acceptance in some ways, though some family ties are much stronger than others.
The past doesn't seem to mean much to animals though apart from learning from their experiences. I don't think that they actually think about or remember the experiences consciously, but their bodies react sort of automatically even if they don't really understand why. I think they are much more instinctual than intellectual. Some animals of course are smarter and probably have more complex mental capacities than other animals and may be able to experience more emotions and feelings but in general I don't think they feel much beyond the basic emotions.
I think even if animals could feel regret, they wouldn't, because it's a stupid waste of time to regret things that you can't change or do anything about. Just like animals don't worry like people do. They may feel anxiety for something in their present that they are afraid of, dogs may even pine until their owner comes home, but they don't worry about the past or the future. There may be, I'm sure, some exceptions for the most intelligent of animals but generally speaking they are much simpler and less complex than people and have simpler and less complex emotions.
The past doesn't seem to mean much to animals though apart from learning from their experiences. I don't think that they actually think about or remember the experiences consciously, but their bodies react sort of automatically even if they don't really understand why. I think they are much more instinctual than intellectual. Some animals of course are smarter and probably have more complex mental capacities than other animals and may be able to experience more emotions and feelings but in general I don't think they feel much beyond the basic emotions.
I think even if animals could feel regret, they wouldn't, because it's a stupid waste of time to regret things that you can't change or do anything about. Just like animals don't worry like people do. They may feel anxiety for something in their present that they are afraid of, dogs may even pine until their owner comes home, but they don't worry about the past or the future. There may be, I'm sure, some exceptions for the most intelligent of animals but generally speaking they are much simpler and less complex than people and have simpler and less complex emotions.