The Unique Relationship Between Humans and Dogs
Paty Pozas
At the beginning of last summer , during quarantine , my family decided to get a dog , along with countless families throughout the world . I haven ’ t had a puppy since when I was much younger and did not have enough sense of responsibility to learn how to train and comprehend these little animals properly ; so now I was very eager to research as much as possible . After learning about canine behavioral cues and body language , there was one question that I kept wondering about : To what extent can dogs perceive our emotions , and what effect do our cues cause on their behavior and well being ?
There is no question as to why a dog is a man ' s best friend . Dogs can be extremely loyal and protective of their owners while at the same time providing unconditional love and companionship for them . Nonetheless , one quality that distinguishes dogs from other nonprimate animals is their ability to recognize human facial expressions and body behavior , and associate these cues with either negative or positive emotions . In a study conducted by Natalia Albuquerque from the School of Life Sciences , the results showed that dogs had , at the bare minimum , the " mental prototypes for emotional categorization " ( Albuquerque , Guo , Wilkinson , Savalli , Otta , Mills , 2015 ). Because of this capacity , our companions have the cognitive ability to identify human emotions without even receiving any prior training .
The same research piece from Albuquerque showed that dogs are better at sensing their fellow species ' emotions than human emotions . Nonetheless , in the end , the analysts concluded that dogs " use that [ emotional connection ], and develop [ it ], to interact with humans " ( Albuquerque , Guo , Wilkinson , Savalli , Otta , Mills , 2015 ). Overall , dogs use their knowledge about canine sensations and apply those same techniques and abilities to perceive human emotions . As stated by Brian Hare , who analyzes cognitive neuroscience at Duke University , no other species in the animal kingdom " can spontaneously read our communicative gestures as flexibly as dogs can " ( Hare , 2013 ). But how exactly do dogs sense emotions ?
Dogs can perceive human emotions by observing facial expressions and smelling feelings , among other capabilities . By using their sense of sight , dogs can respond to facial cues and associate a human expression with either positive or negative sensations . A study conducted by Marcello Siniscalchi from the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Bari recorded the reactions of twenty-six domestic dogs when researchers showed them pictures of humans facially depicting six emotions . These emotions were fear , happiness , anger , surprise , sadness , and disgust , along with neutral expressions . The results showed that dogs turned their heads to the left as a response to facial expressions that showed anger , fear , and happiness , a reaction that suggests a " right-hemispheric-dominant activity in processing these emotional stimuli " ( Siniscalchi , 2018 ). A group of researchers from Italy who focus on canine emotions and behaviors conducted a study to test how dogs can smell emotions . The researchers tested four human odors , taken from a sweat sample of people experiencing different emotions such as stress , fear , and happiness . When provided with a Q-tip saturated with a scent collected from a human in a stressful or fearful situation , dogs " consistently used their left nostril ," showing that dogs commonly use their olfactory senses to perceive and distinguish what kind of emotion a human is feeling ( Siniscalchi , 2016 ). Because dogs can sense and categorize people ’ s emotions , owners need to recognize what vocalizations and body language they are depicting near their pets .
Dogs are unusual animals because most of what they do stems from their desire to work with humans and communicate with us . How we treat our dogs and the actions that we choose to take to ensure their happiness are decisions that can either advance or hinder a dog ’ s success . Brian Hare states that dogs , as a species , are remarkable in areas such as “ taking someone else ’ s visual perspective or learning from someone else ’ s action [ s ]” ( Hare , 2013 ). If a person trains a dog through fear and frustration , it is a sure thing that their pets will not perform at their best and will not live a positive and fulfilled life . On the other hand , if you train your dog with positive reinforcements and feelings of care and ease , then you can be sure that your dog will learn much quicker and that your relationship with your pet will be the best it can be . Our emotions and body language , and our portrayal of feelings such as anger and frustration , or happiness and love , have a much more significant impact on our dogs than we realize .
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