Yes, Your Dog Wants to Help When You're Upset

Confirming what dog owners already know, new research shows that dogs really do want to help us when we're sad or upset. Learn how the experiments worked in this episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to brain Stuff. From How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,
Lauren vogelbam here, Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have confirmed
what most dog owners already know. The dogs have strong
emotional bonds with their owners and want to help when
we're upset. In a paper titled in homage to Lassie
Timmy's in the Well, Empathy and pro Social Helping in Dogs,

(00:24):
published in eighteen issue of the journal Learning and Behavior,
researchers described how dogs pushed through a door when they
heard their owners crying. Lead author Emily Sandford, a graduate
student in psychological and brain sciences, set in the paper
we found dogs not only sense what their owners are feeling.
If a dog knows a way to help them, they'll

(00:44):
go through barriers to provide that help to them. Study
found dogs may be hardwired to comfort us when we're sad,
regardless of whether the dog knows us or not. When
a stranger and the dog's owner cried, the dogs approached
whoever was bawling in a submissive way. The dogs, the
researchers concluded, responded empathetically to the person's emotions and not

(01:05):
their own needs. But Sandford's research is the first to
show that our beloved four legged friends are specifically moved
to action when they see their owners in emotional distress.
The experiment involved thirty four pet dogs of varying breeds.
Some were big, some small. Here's how it all played out.
Researchers told the dogs owners wanted a time to stand

(01:25):
behind a clear door held shut by magnets. The owners
dogs could see and hear what was going on. Researchers
then had the humans hum Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star or
pretend to cry. While not all the dogs opened the door,
those that did opened it three times faster when they
heard their owners crying instead of humming. Researchers also measured

(01:47):
the dog's stress level. Those that were able to bolt
through the door to rescue their owners showed less stress,
even though they were upset by the crying. Even though
they were upset, they weren't too frazzled to take action.
Researchers concluded the dogs that didn't push the door open
were more stressed out. It seems the researchers surmised those
dogs were so troubled by their owners crying that they

(02:10):
couldn't do anything to help. Sandford said dogs have been
by the side of humans for tens of thousands of years,
and they've learned to read our social cues. Dog owners
can tell that their dogs sense their feelings. Our findings
reinforced that idea and show that, like Lassie, dogs who
know their people are in trouble might spring into action.

(02:33):
Today's episode was written by John Paritano and produced by
Tyler Clang. If you love our show and want to
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