Nz Study Finds Dogs Really Do Care

[labsrule]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/brea...i-1225858883268

NZ study finds dogs really do care

* From: AAP

* April 27, 2010 2:41PM

OUR canine companions can understand human emotions, a New Zealand study has found.

Researchers at the University of Otago, in the South Island, put 90 Dunedin dogs through their paces - showing some recorded images of babies laughing, crying and babbling and giving others verbal instructions from human's displaying happy or stern expressions.

Associate Professor Ted Ruffman said the dogs' responses indicated they could tell the difference between a happy and an angry person and a laugh from a cry.

"We know dogs are very good at picking up human gestures," Prof Ruffman told the Otago Daily Times.

"And it seems they are very good at picking up on human emotions, too."

He said dogs who saw the crying baby searched behind the television screen to "find" the baby, cocked their head and expressed concern.

The aim of the study was to discover if dogs have a natural empathetic response to human emotion or if their reaction is based on positive reinforcements.

[mita]

"And it seems they are very good at picking up on human emotions, too."

He said dogs who saw the crying baby searched behind the television screen to "find" the baby, cocked their head and expressed concern.

We had a female dog that would do this, but she'd make a whimpering noise.

I'll see if I can find a link to the published study.

Meanwhile, here's a slightly longer account with a pic of Pango, a black lab that took part.

http://www.odt.co.nz/on-campus/university-...now-how-we-feel

Also says Assoc. Prof Ruffman has another study maybe coming up.

Another, which still required ethical approval, would look for the presence of the stress hormone cortisol in dog saliva.

That'd help measure dogs' reactions rather than just implying from behaviour.

University of Otago's Dpt of Psychology lists Associate Professor Ted Ruffman's research interests as:

Social understanding in infants, children, older adults, and dogs.

Edited April 27, 2010 by mita

[megan_]

Most dog behaviour books say that the cocked head is a calming signal - the dog doesn't understand what is being asked of it. My dogs do this if I put on my "talking to the dogs" and just say random words.

[Bisart Dobes]

No kidding - did they actually have to do a study to realise this ??? Anyone who lives with and loves their dogs could have told them this.

[Jed]

They should have just asked us, eh, Bisart Dobes?

It's good that studies are proving what we all know.

A friend of mine stayed with me for a while. She is quite depressive, and was given to sitting, staring at the floor, feeling really down.

TBCSITW would clamber up beside her, sit down like a person, put his paws around her neck, and bury his nose in her neck or face. Giving her a damn good cuddle. He never did it when she was feeling good.

[furballs]

A study says dogs care, wow, I think most people who care about their dogs would know this without some researcher saying it.....dah

[poodlemum]

They should have just asked us, eh, Bisart Dobes?

It's good that studies are proving what we all know.

A friend of mine stayed with me for a while. She is quite depressive, and was given to sitting, staring at the floor, feeling really down.

TBCSITW would clamber up beside her, sit down like a person, put his paws around her neck, and bury his nose in her neck or face. Giving her a damn good cuddle. He never did it when she was feeling good.

My old GSP used to go & sit with someone if they weren't feeling well - we called him "Dr.Wings" (his name was Coolhand Bronze Wings)

Poodles definately know when someone is feeling sad - after my marriage broke up, NIki was a great comfort to me when I was having a little cry

[labsrule]

A study says dogs care, wow, I think most people who care about their dogs would know this without some researcher saying it.....dah

Yeah but us crazy dog people aren't credible, don't you know that It must be proven by credible studies by credible academics

Edited April 28, 2010 by labsrule

[Skitch]

No kidding - did they actually have to do a study to realise this ??? Anyone who lives with and loves their dogs could have told them this.

My thoughts exactly! Although it is nice to have 'confirmed' in an official sort of way.. people often scoff when I tell them my dogs know when I'm sad and make a conscious effort to cheer me up

[animalia]

I had a really crap day the other week and had a little teary when I got home. My red heeler sat beside me and was looking up at me, she then put her front foot on mine and kept looking at me, this isn't a behaviour I have experienced from her before. It felt like she was consoling me.

I also had an uncle and aunt that owned a half feral cat that they had owned for many years and it still never let them touch it. My Uncle and Auntie went to the doctors one day for some results for my uncle, it wasn't good news, my uncle had a terminal brain tumor. When they got home my uncle sat down in his usual chair and for the first time the cat jumped up onto his lap and fell asleep.

[InspectorRex]

Well hello! Tell us all something we didn't already know.

My Collies are extremely perceptive and when Dad passed away last year they "knew" when I was going to cry and I would have two adult Collies on my lasp comforting me.

They know the signals if I take very ill and have to call 000, the younger one sits and yoddles at me.

My beloved Maggie(Ch Colbeau Go Get Em Legal) was nick-named Nurse Maggie as she could pick up on anyone that was not feeling up to par and would not leave their side.

Mine also like to "watch" TV- they don't chase horses etc when we are out but if they appear on the TV they 'tell' they to get out of their house and try and find them behind the TV.

[sandgrubber]

I'm waiting for the study that shows the average emotional IQ of a dog is higher than that of a human being. I know mine have more emotional smarts than me . . . much better at being patient, much less judgmenental ...

Don't knock the guys doing the study. They probably have a bunch of colleagues who consider it rubbish . . . and assert that dogs aren't cluey about human emotions. Wasn't that long ago that many 'animal behaviorists' thought that animals had no emotions. Easy for dog owners to make fun of . . . as with the famous study that showed that kids like it when Ken and Barbie have their bits, but parent would prefer neutered dolls . . . but sometimes in science you have to jump through the hoops and disprove that what many people consider obvious isn't rubbish.

[mita]

I'm waiting for the study that shows the average emotional IQ of a dog is higher than that of a human being. I know mine have more emotional smarts than me . . . much better at being patient, much less judgmenental ...

Don't knock the guys doing the study. They probably have a bunch of colleagues who consider it rubbish . . . and assert that dogs aren't cluey about human emotions. Wasn't that long ago that many 'animal behaviorists' thought that animals had no emotions. Easy for dog owners to make fun of . . . . . . but sometimes in science you have to jump through the hoops and disprove that what many people consider obvious isn't rubbish.

You're dead right, sandgrubber. Well said.

Science is not about proving things....it's about finding what does not apply.

It does so via measurement, not via personal opinion.

But that doesn't mean what people say doesn't count. It does, obviously. But from a science view, it's called anecdotal evidence..

Science picks things apart, & tests by measuring.

Edited May 1, 2010 by mita

[Bisart Dobes]

Yes, Jed if only they had thought to ask

Forgot about this thread actually.

Not knocking the white coats but really !! If they have the funding for studies how about working out how to cure cancer in dogs or how about working on finding the specific genes that carry or trigger certain diseases in our beloved animals (and people to . . . ). Put it to good use.

I could write a book about dogs emotional life journey's - we do visits to nursing homes - my old boy in his prime during his visit bought an old lady out of her 'deep sleep' for only a short period - she patted him and cried and then went back into her sleep. As she wasn't responding to him being there in the beginning I was going to leave her bedside but he put his front feet up on the side of the bed and put his head next to her hand and nudged her slightly - this was when she responded. She passed that night.

He knew - it just amazes me, still after all these years - they all do.

Or my dog that freaked out when my pregnant sister came to our house - he just sat in front of her and stared at her belly - like it was talking to him, it was really weird. But when he met the baby for the first time, he looked in the pram at him and his face just said - oh, here you are - he knew who it was.

[Jed]

I'm not knocking the study, I think it is wonderful that there is scientific proof for things we know, but cannot prove.

I am really excited to see all these studies about dogs prove different points.

It's difficult for people to believe anecdotes, but scientific studies prove the anecdotes, which is important. There is a lot more depth to the canine race than we know, a lot of their abilities and talents lie in directions which are difficult to qualify.

Guide dogs, sniffer dogs, assistance dogs, helpers for disabled people, and more and more abilities are being discovered, and will continue to be discovered.

The talents of Endal, the assistance dog in England are truly wonderful, yet most dogs can do some of the things he did, without training.

Wonderful thing, dogs, and deserve much better treatment then they get as a species.

Edited May 4, 2010 by Jed