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Dogs react to smell of human stress

Jul 23, 2024, 6:05 PM | Updated: Jul 24, 2024, 12:39 pm

The smell of human stress affects dogs’ emotions, leading them to make pessimistic choices.

Researchers recruited 18 dog owner partners to take part in different human smells. Dogs that smelled stress on their human tended to stay lower, behind their owner and didn’t go near a bowl that was known to have treats in it. They can feel that something is wrong.

The University of Bristol-led study, published in Scientific Reports, is the first to test how human stress odors affect dogs’ learning and emotional state.

Evidence in humans suggests that the smell of a stressed person subconsciously affects the emotions and choices made by others around them. Bristol Veterinary School researchers wanted to find out whether dogs also experience changes in their learning and emotional state in response to human stress or relaxation odors.

Researchers discovered that the stress smell made dogs slower to approach the food bowl known to be near an empty bowl, an effect that was not seen with the relaxed smell. The relaxed smell had the dogs move faster with confidence to a reward.

“Dog owners know how attuned their pets are to their emotions, but here we show that even the odor of a stressed, unfamiliar human affects a dog’s emotional state, perception of rewards and ability to learn. Working dog handlers often describe stress traveling down the lead, but we’ve also shown it can also travel through the air.”

Read more about our pets here.

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Dogs react to smell of human stress