Surely on more than one occasion you have heard that “the dog is man’s best friend” and the truth is that it is not just another phrase. The bond that unites dogs and humans was forged many years ago, it is believed that as a result of the domestication of wolves (dogs are descended from them) in order to make them the ideal domestic animals. A relationship that goes one step further. Some time ago it was believed that dogs were capable of detecting the emotions of other fellow species, but what if we tell you that they can also do the same with us ? A scientific study corroborates this.
Have you ever felt that your dog notices when you are sad? They are not your imaginations, you really can, and it is that dogs have a special ability to interpret the non-verbal language of people.
“Science has proven that they are capable of interpreting emotions, even identifying people who have bad intentions against them or their owners, just by attitude, tone of voice and body language,” explained Alberto Tejeda, from the Veterinary Hospital of Specialties in Wild Fauna and Clinical Ethology, of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics of the University of Mexico. Some statements that have been echoed by the Veterinary Journal . This would explain, among other things, why your dog barks at strangers for no apparent reason.
Not only can they distinguish between a person who has good or bad intentions, but they are also able to identify whether one person has been unfriendly to another. A conclusion that was reached after conducting a study that includes Sciencedirect . In the first phase, the investigators asked the owners to try to open a container and upon failure, to ask the investigators for help. While one of these scientists did not respond to the request, another of them did come to their aid.
After this, both offered food to the dog and it did not make any kind of distinction between them. Therefore, this study concluded that it did not distinguish between useful and unhelpful men. However, the second phase yielded some very interesting results. They repeated this experiment and one of the researchers again refused to offer help, while another of them was kind. Do you know from whom the dog accepted the food? Exactly, from the one who did help him.
The emotional part of dogs plays a very important role in their life. So much so, that thanks also to their excellent sense of smell and good memory, they will never forget whether or not you have been kind and friendly to them, even if a long time has passed. In case they have received good vibes from you, they will show you affection. According to Tejeda: “Like people, they prefer to establish bonds with generous individuals.” And it is that after all, dogs and humans are not so different when it comes to our emotions.
An idea that has a scientific basis. According to researchers from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, humans and dogs share some social skills; The sociocognitive behavior of dogs, for example, resembles that of a child between 6 months and 2 years of age in many respects. The use of conspicuous signals is one of these characteristics: dogs, as well as human babies, are sensitive to signals that indicate communicative intention, “says József Topál, one of the researchers at this center.
In the same way, this emotional part that they have developed also helps them decide if they want to bond with other dogs. “They show childish behaviors even as adults, and apparently the emotional part brings them closer to evaluating the other to make them their friend or not,” Tejeda said.
Likewise, and according to conclusions drawn by this researcher, the similarities between humans and dogs go further because they too can suffer from anxiety. This could be behind some aggressive behaviors of your pet but, in addition, leaving him alone for a long time or punishing him frequently could lead to certain mental health problems. “With such a disorder, he can be highly aggressive, fearful or sleepwalking,” said the expert Alberto Tejeda. But not only that, and as we told you in this article, your stress can also affect him.
