Study suggests dogs can catch human stress – 2024-07-29 05:06:02

A study published in the journal Scientific Reports reveals novel findings on the dogs’ ability to detect and react negatively to human stress.

The researchers responsible for these experiments used an “optimism” or “pessimism” test to evaluate decisions made by dogs.

In the study, it is They recruited 18 dogs along with their ownerswho were exposed to various odors to train the dogs to detect the location of a bowl of food.

Human stress affects dogs’ optimism

To assess the impact of owner stress on dogs, researchers They conducted a series of tests in multiple sessions and phaseswith two tests particularly standing out.

The first of them consisted of training dogs to know that when a food bowl was placed in a spotcontained a treat, and when placed in another, it was empty.

The result was that when the dog learned the difference between the locations of the bowls, was approaching the place faster with the candy that to the empty place.

The researchers They tested how quickly the dog approached new containers located between the two originals.

When faced with the smell of stress from their owners, dogs tend to be more cautious when approaching their food bowl. (Photo, Prensa Libre: Freepik)

A quick approach reflected optimism regarding the presence of food in these storiesand therefore a positive emotional state, while if they approached more slowly it was due to a more pessimistic perception regarding the possibility of finding food.

In the second test, scientists They exposed dogs to sweat and breath samples from humans in a state of stress or relaxation and saw if they continued to perform the tests in the same way after that exposure.

The result was that, The dogs’ attitude changed. He relaxed smell made them approach faster to the ambiguous place with the confidence of finding food, while with the smell of stress reacted more negatively, approaching more slowly to those feeders located in ambiguous places.

Researchers suggest that this “pessimistic” response reflects a negative emotional state and may be a way to conserve energy and avoid disappointment.

The team also found that the dogs continued to improve their learning about the presence or absence of food in both trained bowl locations, and that they improved more quickly when the stress odor was present.