How Human Stress Affects Dogs’ Emotions
Dogs have long been known for their ability to detect human stress. Recent research, however, has revealed that when dogs sense a person in distress, it affects their own behavior, leading to increased pessimism.
New Findings
New research is the first to explore how a dog owner’s emotional state impacts their pet. Dr. Nicola Rooney, a senior lecturer at the University of Bristol’s veterinary school and lead author of the study, explained: “Dog owners know their pets are sensitive to their emotions. We found that even the scent of a stressed, unfamiliar human influences a dog’s emotional state, perception of rewards, and learning ability.”
Dr. Rooney noted that stress doesn’t only travel through physical contact but also through the air.
Research Methods
The study aimed to test how exposure to stressed versus relaxed human odors affected dogs. Researchers used a test of “optimism” or “pessimism” to measure the dogs’ emotional states.
Eighteen dog-owner pairs participated. Dogs learned to associate a food bowl’s location with a treat or no treat. Once they understood the difference, researchers tested their response to new, ambiguous bowl locations.
A quick approach to these new locations indicated optimism, while a slow approach suggested pessimism. The trials were conducted with either no odor, or with the scents of stressed or relaxed humans.
Results
The findings showed that dogs exposed to the stress odor were slower to approach the ambiguous bowl location closest to where they expected an empty bowl. This effect did not occur with the relaxed odor.
The stress smell seemed to make dogs expect that the new location would be empty, similar to the empty bowl location. This behavior may help dogs conserve energy and avoid disappointment.
Interestingly, dogs continued to improve their learning about food locations, and they did so faster when exposed to the stress odor.
Implications
Understanding how human stress affects dogs is crucial, especially for those in kennels and training programs. It highlights the need for managing stress in environments where dogs are trained and cared for.