Do dogs empathize with people?

A group of scientists from Johns Hopkins University found that dogs are not only able to understand when their owner is upset, but are ready to make great efforts to be with him at that moment.

It is well known that dogs feel the emotions of their owners. However, according to scientists from the American Johns Hopkins University, their ability to empathize is not limited to this.

The researchers were able to find out that dogs are willing to go to great lengths to comfort their saddened owners. In order to come to this conclusion, they conducted an experiment involving 34 dogs of various breeds.

During the tests, pets were separated from their owners by a transparent door closed with magnets. The hosts themselves were instructed to sing a sad lullaby or, if they succeeded, start crying.

Hearing the cry, the dogs rushed to their masters with all possible speed. On average, they tried to open the magnetic lock on the door three times faster than when their owners did not show negative emotions.

During the experiment, the scientists measured the stress levels of the animals. As it turned out, those dogs that could not open the door or even tried to do so experienced it even more than other animals. We can say that they empathized with their owners so much that they were literally paralyzed.

“Dogs have been around humans for tens of thousands of years, and they have learned to read our social cues,” said project lead researcher Emily Sanford.

Source: tsargrad.tv