A recent study conducted by the University of Lincoln and the University of Sao Paulo, revealed that dogs understand what humans feel. With this study, what used to be a belief by dog owners that their pets understand them has become a reality.
The study showed that dogs have the ability to identify the emotional state of an individual. Using pictures of humans and dogs representing various emotional states, plus different audio recordings of cheerful, angry or sad voices/barks, it was ascertained that dogs look at the pictures that tend to correspond or match the emotion in the audio being played.
CBS News mentioned the findings of the experts involved in the study. Dr. Kun Guo, one of the animal behavioral experts from the University of Lincoln said, "Our study shows that dogs have the ability to integrate two different sources of sensory information into a coherent perception of emotion in both humans and dogs." A co-author, Professor Daniel Mills, mentioned that this ability of dogs is inherent in them.
Last year, researchers in Vienna have also found that dogs can actually identify the emotion of an individual by merely looking at their faces, as stated in a report by the Telegraph. Pets therefore know whether their owners are angry with them or are happy with them.
Natalia Albuquerque, the lead author of the study, sent an email to CBS News saying that "Studying dog behavior and cognition allows us to better understand who dogs are and what they need, why we interact and relate to these animals and why they are so important to us."
The study proves invaluable to pet owners as well as to those who closely work with animals. This might just pave the way for understanding not only dogs, but other pets that closely live with families in their homes.
