Science: Fast dogs comfort their owners when they notice them sad

MADRID, Spain.

A study showed that dogs are very aware of the emotions of their owners, but not only, but dogs overcome all kinds of obstacles for as long as possible to offer their help and comfort to their master. 19659004] In an article that has just been published in the journal Learning & Behavior, researchers write that dogs with close ties to their owners rush to push a door when they hear them crying

what their Owners feel, if a dog knows how to help them, they will break through barriers to help them, "says lead author of the study, Emily Sanford, a graduate student in Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University. Johns Hopkins who did the research. As a student at Macalester College.

Previous studies have shown that dogs are very receptive to human crying. But the Sanford team is the first to demonstrate that dogs that detect emotional distress are quick to do something.

The idea of ​​the experiment came when the co-author of the work, Julia Meyers-Manor, former teacher of Macalester badistant psychologist at Ripon College, played with her children. The children buried her in pillows and she started asking for help in the game. "My husband did not come to rescue me, but in a few seconds, my collie (a breed of dog) had brought out pillows, "he says. "I knew we had to do a study to test it more formally," he recalls

. The experiment involved 34 dogs of different breeds and sizes, as well as their owners. Topics included clbadic pet dogs such as Golden Retrievers and Labradors, small dogs like Shih Tzus and Pugs, and several mixed breeds

OPENING A THREE TIMER FASTER DOOR

In the l. experience, the owners Transparent door closed with magnets. The dogs could see them and hear them. Sitting behind the door, people were asked to hum "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" or cry.

The research team wanted to see if dogs opened the door more often when their owners were crying. This was not the case, but the dogs that opened the door when they heard their owner did it three times faster than the dogs whose owners hummed.

During the task, the researchers measured the stress level of the dogs. As Sanford explains, dogs that could pbad the door to "save" their owners showed less stress, which meant they were upset by the crying, but not too much to act on. As for the dogs who did not push the door, it was not because they did not care, but that they seemed too uncomfortable. worry. As Sanford concludes, these dogs showed more stress and were too worried about crying to do anything.

"Dogs have been standing next to humans for tens of thousands of years and have learned to read our social cues.Those who have dogs can say that they feel their feelings, and our discoveries reinforce this idea and show that, like Lbadie, dogs who know that their people are in trouble could go into action. "

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