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Dog emotions effected by our stress: pet behaviour study
July 30, 2024
PRESS RELEASE
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Does your dog seem to know when you are feeling stressed and, if so, does it cause them to act any different? According to a new study from an English university, the answer would be yes!
The results showed that dogs can in fact sense and react to their owners’ stress levels and that then impacts the decisions they make.
A recent study led by the University of Bristol has revealed that the smell of human stress can significantly influence dogs’ emotions. As a result, it leads the dogs to make more pessimistic choices.
Published in Scientific Reports, the research is the first to explore how human stress odours impact dogs’ learning and emotional states.
The study involved 18 dog-owner pairs participating in a series of trials designed to measure the dogs’ emotional responses.
The trials included training the dogs to associate specific locations with either a food reward or an empty bowl.
Researchers then introduced ambiguous bowl locations and observed the dogs’ reactions.
Testing the effect our stress levels can have on our dogs
To test the effects of human stress and relaxation, the dogs were exposed to sweat and breath samples from humans who were either stressed (having completed an arithmetic task) or relaxed (having listened to calming soundscapes).
“Understanding how human stress affects dogs’ wellbeing is an important consideration for dogs in kennels and when training companion dogs and dogs for working roles such as assistance dogs,” says . Dr Nicola Rooney, Senior Lecturer in Wildlife and Conservation at Bristol Veterinary School and the paper’s lead author explained.
“Dog owners know how attuned their pets are to their emotions, but here we show that even the odour of a stressed, unfamiliar human affects a dog’s emotional state, perception of rewards, and ability to learn.
“Working dog handlers often describe stress travelling down the lead, but we’ve also shown it can also travel through the air.”
Key findings of the University of Bristol study into dogs sensing owners or strangers stress levels
1. Pessimistic responses to stress odours: Dogs exposed to stress odours were slower to approach ambiguous bowl locations near the trained empty bowl spot. This behaviour suggests a pessimistic outlook, reflecting a negative emotional state. In contrast, dogs exposed to relaxed odours did not exhibit the same hesitation .
2. Learning and adaptation: The study also found that dogs continued to improve their learning about the presence or absence of food in the trained locations, and they learned faster when exposed to the stress odour. This suggests that the stress smell might make dogs more cautious, potentially as a strategy to avoid disappointment.
For further details, the study is accessible in Scientific Reports.
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