• Home
  • TRAINING FOR BEGINNERS
    • EXERCISES
    • PETS
  • CBD
  • PRODUCTS
  • TRENDING
  • PET NEWS
  • PET TRAVEL
  • Advertise Here
No Result
View All Result
Plugin Install : Cart Icon need WooCommerce plugin to be installed.
  • Home
  • TRAINING FOR BEGINNERS
    • EXERCISES
    • PETS
  • CBD
  • PRODUCTS
  • TRENDING
  • PET NEWS
  • PET TRAVEL
  • Advertise Here
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home PETS

Dogs Can Smell Our Stress, And It Affects Them Deeply : ScienceAlert

by Doggone Well Staff
July 26, 2024
in PETS
38 1
0
Dogs Can Smell Our Stress, And It Affects Them Deeply : ScienceAlert
32
SHARES
356
VIEWS
Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
Dog Food topper - Getquelle365


Dogs can smell human stress, and a new study reveals the scent may trigger a similar emotional effect in dogs, prompting them to make ‘pessimistic' decisions.

This is the first scientific evidence of human stress odors influencing emotion and learning in dogs, the UK team of researchers say, and may shed valuable new light on the ancient bond between our species.

While dogs' ability to sense human moods may come as little surprise to those who live with them, the study suggests it's stronger than many people think.

“Owners know how attuned their pets are to their emotions, but here we show that even the odor of a stressed, unfamiliar human affects a dog's emotional state, perception of rewards, and ability to learn,” says senior author Nicola Rooney, a human-animal interactions researcher at the University of Bristol.

Previous studies in humans have shown we can sniff clues about other people's emotions, subconsciously detecting chemosignals in their sweat, and these hidden signals can subtly affect our own emotions and decisions.

Dog Food topper - Getquelle365

Dogs also detect these signals from us, as other recent findings show, but Rooney and her colleagues hoped to learn how our stress odors affect them.

Since dogs are skilled at reading human verbal and non-verbal cues, the researchers decided against directly exposing them to stressed-out humans.

Study participant Freddie sits next to a jar containing an odor sample. (University of Bristol)

Instead, dogs were presented with sweat and breath samples collected from three unfamiliar human volunteers as they relaxed or did something stressful.

The relaxing activity involved watching a nature video, while the stress test involved frustrating instructions related to maths and public speaking.

The researchers recruited 18 dog-human duos to participate in trials featuring the human odor samples. The dogs learned during training sessions that a food bowl in one location always contained a treat, while a bowl at a second site was always empty.

Dogs who learned this began to approach more quickly if a bowl was placed in the positive location P (associated with treats) than in the negative one N (associated with no treats).

The dogs' eager scurrying indicates “optimism,” the team explains, or a behavioral signal hinting at an animal's emotional state, based on previous research linking people's positive and negative emotions with “optimistic” or “pessimistic” decisions, respectively.

After initial training, the researchers began to serve bowls in new places, cryptically located between the first two, to see how readily dogs approached.

They introduced three new locations, each identified by its proximity to one of the original two sites: near-positive NP, middle M, and near-negative NN.

They repeated these experiments while exposing dogs to odor samples from either stressed or relaxed humans, or to no odor at all.

A graphic depicting the experimental setup.
The experimental layout. (Parr-Cortes et al., Scientific Reports, 2024)

Dogs were significantly less likely to approach a bowl in the near-negative position when they smelled a stressed stranger, than when exposed to the scent of a relaxed stranger or blank cloth.

The stress odor proved less discouraging when a bowl was in the middle or near-positive position, but combined with a placement near the foodless zone, the odor was apparently enough to dampen their hopes.

The same near-negative bowl location didn't seem to dissuade dogs quite as much when they weren't exposed to the stress odor. This suggests dogs were considering ambient odors along with the bowl's position to estimate the likelihood of finding food.

“Working dog handlers often describe stress traveling down the lead, but we've shown it can also travel through the air,” Rooney says.

The subdued response from dogs exposed to human stress odor qualifies as pessimism, and hints at a negative emotional state. This may be adaptive, perhaps helping dogs conserve resources or avoid frustration.

Much of this dynamic is still poorly understood, and more research will be needed to clarify how exactly our odors affect the way dogs feel and learn.

And given the broad importance of dogs to humans globally – as co-workers, partners, and friends – we'd be wise to follow clues that might bolster our bond.

“Understanding how human stress affects dogs' well-being is an important consideration for dogs in kennels,” says Rooney, “and when training companion dogs and dogs for working roles such as assistance dogs.”

The study was published in Scientific Reports.



Source link

Dog Food topper - Getquelle365
Tags: AffectsdeeplydogsScienceAlertSmellStress
Tweet8Share13Share3Share
Previous Post

12 ‘Drama Queen’ Dog Breeds Who Deserve Their Own Soap Opera

Next Post

7 Dog Breeds Who Made Snoring Hall of Fame

Doggone Well Staff

Next Post
7 Dog Breeds Who Made Snoring Hall of Fame

7 Dog Breeds Who Made Snoring Hall of Fame

Youtube Channel

Currently Playing

Jealous Dog Want Attention Compilation NEW

Jealous Dog Want Attention Compilation NEW

00:06:28

Best Of Funny Guilty Dog Compilation 2014

00:05:32

Best Dog Birthday Surprise: DIY Ball Pit for Maymo

00:01:39

How a little microchip changed this dog's life!!! Please share this important video. #dog

00:05:48

Follow Our Page

Popular Post

    Follow Us

    Category

    • CBD
    • EXERCISES
    • Home
    • NEW POSTS
    • PET NEWS
    • PET TRAVEL
    • PETS
    • PRODUCTS
    • TRAINING FOR BEGINNERS
    • TRENDING

    Tag Cloud

    Adoption Animal Animals Attack breeds Care Cat Cats County Day Death dog Dog as Pet Dog Owner dogs Family Fire food health Home house Humane Life Local Love Man Meet news Owners Park people Pets Police Puppy Rescue Safe Shelter Society Stray Tips Top Vet Ways Week Woman

    Recent News

    Ultimate Irish Wolfhound Puppy Shopping List: Checklist of 24 Must-Have Items

    Ultimate Irish Wolfhound Puppy Shopping List: Checklist of 24 Must-Have Items

    July 17, 2025
    Hacker T Dog announced as new Blue Peter presenter

    Hacker T Dog announced as new Blue Peter presenter

    July 17, 2025
    • DMCA
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Disclaimer
    • Contact Us
    • Cookie Privacy Policy

    © 2022 Doggone Well - doggone well.

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • TRAINING FOR BEGINNERS
      • EXERCISES
      • PETS
    • CBD
    • PRODUCTS
    • TRENDING
    • PET NEWS
    • PET TRAVEL
    • Advertise Here

    © 2022 Doggone Well - doggone well.

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password?

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In