
New Study Shows Dogs Feel – and Respond to – Our Pain
Scientists in England have new evidence indicating that dogs not only show empathy when their owners are in distress, but are even drawn to comfort people they don’t know well.
Dr. Deborah Custance and Jennifer Mayer, of Goldsmiths, University of London, devised an experiment where 18 pet dogs of varying ages and breeds were put in the room with people (including not just their owners, but also strangers) who modeled one of a few different scenarios: they either engaged in casual conversations, hummed to themselves, or pretended to cry.
For those carrying out normal conversation (the control group), none of the dogs responded. The press release from Goldsmiths explains the key behavior from the study:
Significantly more dogs looked at, approached and touched the humans as they were crying as opposed to humming, and no dogs responded during talking. The majority of dogs in the study responded to the crying person in a submissive manner consistent with empathic concern and comfort-offering.
“The humming was designed to be a relatively novel behavior, which might be likely to pique the dogs’ curiosity. The fact that the dogs differentiated between crying and humming indicates that their response to crying was not purely driven by curiosity,” explained Dr Custance. “Rather, the crying carried greater emotional meaning for the dogs and provoked a stronger overall response than either humming or talking.”
The study also found that the dogs responded to the person who was crying regardless of whether it was their owner or the unfamiliar person: “If the dogs’ approaches during the crying condition were motivated by self-oriented comfort-seeking, they would be more likely to approach their usual source of comfort, their owner, rather than the stranger,” said Jennifer. “No such preference was found. The dogs approached whoever was crying regardless of their identity. Thus they were responding to the person’s emotion, not their own needs, which is suggestive of empathic-like comfort-offering behavior.”
This is just one more key illustration of the human-animal bond that differentiates dogs from nearly every other pet with whom we share our lives. The British study shows that in a very real way, dogs feel our pain.
Photo credit: Flickr.com/misteraitch
Tags: dog, healthcare, petcare
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OK. So I knew that animals respond to your pain, but the fact that they respond to an unfamiliar person’s pain. I find that very interesting. You are always up on the latest news. Do you get a super secret notification when new news comes in? I need in on this.
Wow, David! It helps make even more sense about why therapy animals are so effective and seem to have that “sense” of who really needs them the most. I always knew MY animals sensed my moods, but this is pretty amazing stuff!
Melissa: that was really my first thought — here’s the underlying reason why therapy dogs are so crucial.
Nichole: I do have a soopersekrit pathway to important petly news, but I can’t divulge my sources. It would, sadly, compromise my journalistic ethics. Also, they made me cross my heart and hope to die, so you understand the conundrum I’m in there.
I understand and will not ask you to compromise your secret society pact with the soopersekrit (never knew that was spelled like that) pathway gatekeepers. 🙂
I met a Veteran at a Veterinary Conference that had PTSD. He had a service dog that could sense individuals that had the potential to cause confrontation. The dog would then lead this Veteran away from that individual which helps him avoid situations he can’t handle. Dogs have powerful senses that is very hard for us to comprehend! Its hard not to love humans best friend!
This goes hand in hand with the last post about Bo the therapy dog!
I completely agree! My dog always cuddles up to me when I am upset. Even though she hates to cuddle. Dogs are my favorite.
Fascinating! Thanks for confirming just how wonderful our dogs really are. 😀
I comfort my man . He has MS. I also knew Nanna was getting sick so I lay as close to her as I could. I am a service dog.
So true. I know when my people are in pain and need my comfort.
I noticed that you’ve been reading our blog and commenting quite a bit. Thank you so much! We really appreciate it! ~Nichole
Thanks, David – you always have the best information! It is amazing when we see some science backing up what we already know – pets make us feel better when the going gets tough!
Love this article. So incredibly true.
Thank you for reading our blog! We really appreciate it! ~Nichole
There is not a single dog owner that didn’t already know this. My sweet baby actually very tenderly “kisses”/licks away my tears any time I’m upset. I can’t help but smile whenever he does it.
Great piece
New Study Shows Dogs Feel – and Respond to – Our Pain http://t.co/sOzPL0rO via @sergeantspet
I always knew our own dogs comforted us when we were sad/crying, but that they comfort strangers is amazing. I guess I should have known. In sophmore year of high school it was very icy outside and I had to wait forever for a bi-state bus. I was distraugh as i didnt have gloves or mittens and my hands were almost frostbitten. The kind sweet dog stayed with me until the bus came. As I got on the bus I turned around, and the dog was gone! Dogs are amazing!
*I forgot to explain a strange dog came from no where and comforeted me. I will never forget it and that is over 30 years ago!
[…] There is an unmistakable connection between people and animals. It’s obvious when you’ve had a bad day, and your dog immediately comes to your side, gazing at you with loving eyes, or your cat senses some “lap time” is in order. Studies even show this bond is real, as my fellow blogger on Pet Health Central, David Greene, pointed out. […]