Dogs detect human stress by smell

The dog is surprising: it can find skiers trapped in an avalanche, detect the presence of a cancerous tumor in a patient, or even feel an epileptic seizure coming on its owner. All this with eyes closed but nose in the air. The list of canine breed smell superpowers is long. And she stretches out once more. In humans, the evidence for the existence of chemical signals excreted by the body in situations of stress or well-being is accumulating. Because of the highly developed sense of smell of canines, scientists have wondered if these smells linked to human emotions might be recognized by dogs. A new study published this Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE and conducted by a British team confirms this.