Can dogs can ‘catch’ their ‘owners’ emotions?

Recent studies show how canines pick up chemical and physiological cues from people that allow our moods to become “contagious.”

Dog-owners often feel that their pooches are good at picking up on their emotions. This isn’t their imaginations. New studies show how behavioral and chemical cues from humans can affect dogs in ways that enable them to not only discriminate between their owners’ fear, excitement, or anger, but also to “catch” these feelings from their human companions. Just as  human toddlers look to their parents for cues about how to react to the people and world around them, dogs often look to humans for similar signs. When their people project feelings of calm and confidence, dogs tend to view their surroundings as safe and secure.

A professor of psychology and director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University, Clive Wynne, PhD, points out that “dogs are amazingly social beings, so they are easily infected with our warmth and joy.” But the converse is true as well, which means their owner’s stress and anxiety can also become the dog’s stress and anxiety. 

[Link – National Geographic] [Link -Journal Study]