Study Shows Dogs Detect Emotion In Humans!
 

We all already knew this - and BTW, dogs don't need to hear our voices to detect emotion - but it's encouraging to know the test shows in part how attuned to us these wonderful creatures are to the sounds we make! But we know that besides our voices, they study our faces, our body attitudes, our scent and our behavior also and without a word being spoken or a laugh or sob being uttered, they KNOW what's going on with us. Dogs seem designed to live with and care about and for mankind! We're made for each other.

Dogs can detect emotion in human voices, study shows | Fox News

I would fake crying sound sometimes and my four months old pup would drop whatever he's doing and come to me, licking me. I found out he would do it the first time I imitating his whining sound back to my fiance. Lol he is such a sweet little thing.

:) I quite agree with you Jeanie....you don't have to utter a sound.

Harry knows (sometimes before I do, I'm sure) when I/we are sad, worried, glad, over-the-moon, hurting etc. etc. and then acts/reacts appropriately.

He'll sometimes come up and look me straight in the eye too, as if he's judging my mood.

When Andy and I sit down to watch 'his' team playing football, Harry will run and get his ball BEFORE the match starts....there's obviously some tension or excitement in the air that he picks up on. And yet we sit down to watch loads of stuff together - but it's the only time he fetches his ball....!!! :D Sally + Harry x

It's amazing how in-tune with humans dogs are. If you have never seen BBC Horizon's episode called The Secret Life of the Dog, it's a must. For instance, one side of a human face is way more expressive than the other (can't remember which side it was though), which causes people to instinctively look to that side of a person's face when talking to them. This episode showed dogs do the same with humans but not to any other animal, and no animal other than humans or dogs is known to do this. Then they showed how even a young puppy will respond to a human pointing in the direction of a hidden treat, but closer ancestors to us, such as chimps, do not. Neither will wolves even though their DNA is so close to that of dogs. The most amazing thing though was a Border Collie they showed who could reason abstractly, which is something that had never been seen outside of humans. By that I mean the owner would hold up a small toy as a representation of the big toy the owner wanted, and then the Border Collie would run to the other room and grab the corresponding big toy. This is without using a word for the toy or anything. The dog would only get to look at the small toy, and would dig through the big toys until he found the one equivalent (equivalent as in looked just like, but way bigger) to the small one. I mean that was really mindblowing to see that a dog could reason about representations of objects.

I've seen that show - watch anything and read everything about dogs. I think it's the right side of the face both people and dogs automatically look at first - which is to the left when they are facing us. I am probably wrong about that but maybe not as mostly in the western cultures of the world anyway, we usually automatically and are taught to "read" things before us from left to right. Dogs have exceptional human "face reading" skills in addition to all their other abilities to sense our mien!

Wasn't that Border Collie amazing?!?! It could have probably been well trained to respond to subtle stealth commands to do that but that alone would be amazing - a dog trained to that level. I prefer to accept the story as true. Some dogs are just "Einsteins" and exceptional just as humans are.

What was amazing to me and I think it was in that same show, apes wouldn't follow our eyes or our pointing at things the same way our dogs do! And they are supposed to be way, way more intelligent than dogs - but dogs have grown up with humans and co-existed so closely with us for so long, they've better adapted at how to "read" us in order to help themselves live better.

I read the study this morning, and now I will have to look for this show.

I think you are correct about it being the right side of the face. I tend to favor the right side of my face, haha.

We have had several different breeds of dogs, and our Yorkies seem particularly in tune with our feelings. Can't hide anything from them!

I work with horses and we take it for granted that when we drop something like food on the floor our dogs will automatically look down and find the food. Not so with horses. They never look down for the food that's been dropped. Once it's out of their eyesight they no longer look for it. Dogs are so incredibly intuitive it constantly amazes me. Horses don't show the same intuitiveness. I dearly love my horses but they can't begin to have the same beautiful qualities as dogs. Dogs have been taken for granted for far too long.

Callie is extremely good at picking up on anyone in our houses emotions especially mine sometimes she even acts the same lol

Dogs really are amazing.
Great study.

they do know