Why Dogs Really Do Feel Your Pain

Dogs may empathize with humans more than any other animal, including humans themselves, several new studies suggest.

The latest research, published in the journal Animal Cognition, found that pet dogs may truly be man (or woman’s) best friend if a person is in distress. That distressed individual does not even have to be someone the dog knows.

“I think there is good reason to suspect dogs would be more sensitive to human emotion than other species,” co-author Deborah Custance told Discovery News. “We have domesticated dogs over a long period of time. We have selectively bred them to act as our companions.”

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“Thus,” she added,” those dogs that responded sensitively to our emotional cues may have been the individuals that we would be more likely to keep as pets and breed from.”

Custance and colleague Jennifer Mayer, both from the Department of Psychology at the University of London Goldsmiths College, exposed 18 pet dogs — representing different ages and breeds — to four separate 20-second human encounters. The human participants included the dogs’ owners as well as strangers.

During one experimental condition, the people hummed in a weird way. For that one, the scientists were trying to see if unusual behavior itself could trigger canine concern. The people also talked and pretended to cry.

The majority of the dogs comforted the person, owner or not, when that individual was pretending to cry. The dogs acted submissive as they nuzzled and licked the person, the canine version of “there, there.” Custance and Mayer say this behavior is consistent with empathic concern and the offering of comfort.

Next: How do dogs do it?

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Duane B.

12:31PM PST on Feb 16, 2013

Thank you for sharing.

February 16
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Kathy P.

2:25PM PDT on Oct 13, 2012

dogs are brilliant. pets are amazing.

October 13
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Maria S.

6:40AM PDT on Sep 20, 2012

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

September 20
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Ajla C.

5:49AM PDT on Sep 19, 2012

Thanks for sharing

September 19
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AnimalWhisperer R.

1:29PM PDT on Sep 17, 2012

Thank you for posting. For free reading on the amazing Animal/Human Interlink click on www.the-system-of-animal-therapy.co.uk/publications Animal Whisperer Rosi Caswell

September 17
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Abbe A.

9:47AM PDT on Sep 14, 2012

of course

September 14
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Despina V.

8:45AM PDT on Sep 9, 2012

Thank you

September 9
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Carol M.

1:48AM PDT on Sep 9, 2012

Thanks

Nils Anders L.

3:26AM PDT on Sep 8, 2012

September 8
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Lenee K.

9:18PM PDT on Sep 7, 2012

So true. I experienced it myself when I was in a terrible marital trouble........ such a comfort my black lab had given me, sadly I had to put her (Ebony) to sleep shortly after due to her sickness and age and my divorce.