Dogs can be very intuitive. That reassuring lick and knowing eyes can work like magic to make you feel better every time you feel down. The sixth sense of canines is finely tuned to the way their owners feel. But, do dogs know when you are sad? Do dogs know how you feel or is it merely your imagination?
Pieces of evidence show that there are dogs that are clever enough to know if their owners or even strangers are sad, stressed, happy, ill, or pregnant. Research also shows that there are dogs that have the ability to sense your health condition and mood.
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Does dog know when you are sad?
If you ever thought that your pet knows when it is time to give you snuggle or a comfortable, you might be on to something.
Based on studies, it was discovered that dogs have the ability to recognize human emotions. Dogs can even guess the emotion of their owners if they spot a hole in the garden.
It is believed that an adult dog has a mind like that of a human toddler as far as mental abilities, vocabulary, and emotional intelligence are concerned. Studies also show that canines have sensitivity to emotional contagion that is responding to someone’s emotions with no understanding of what they feel. Dogs know that you experience poor feelings even when they are unsure about the way you feel and this is why they offer comfort.
How do dogs know when you are sad?
If you have ever seen your dog looking at you in the eyes and making you feel that he understands and cares, you will surely agree that yes, dogs know when you are sad.
That is right, dogs have the ability of telling whether or not you are sad. In fact, they may also be able to tell if you are angry, afraid, and happy. Cool, isn’t it?
But, what is more, interesting is that your suspicions have been confirmed by science. Based on studies, adult dogs have emotional intelligence, vocabulary, and mental abilities that are on par with a human toddler’s. There are instances when dogs might not completely understand the way you feel but although they are unsure about your feelings, they will still get near and offer you comfort.
Out of all animals, canines are known to have the highest empathy level with sharp instincts. While they might not really understand every single word you say, they will surely be able to decipher those hidden messages in your body language and facial expressions.
This means that if your pet cuddles and licks you while you are crying, go ahead of hug him because this is his own way of making you feel better.
Why do dogs know when you are sad?
People are often left amazed and mystified by how astute their dogs can be. But, this doesn’t really come as a surprise. After all, all they do the whole day is watch you and study your every move.
With your dog’s fate tied to each and every whim you have, he has become wise to monitor your moods. When you are in a good mood, it might indicate a game of fetch or an extra snuggle. A bad mood, on the other hand, might mean some scary loud noises or a whole day spent cowering under the bed. This is why it only makes sense for your dog to watch you so closely because changes in your mood give some important clues to what will happen next.
Dogs are also great watches, and some even say that they can be better than humans. Dogs are probably better observers than you. Humans tend to pay too much attention to language and this can often interfere with the ability to see what is really happening around them.
However, humans also rely a lot on what they can see in some ways. A person’s visual system has been highly evolved that the tendency is for it to override those more primitive senses of hearing, touch, and smell, all of which have been highly developed in canines. You probably are not away of the things you are missing.
On top of that, you also cannot see yourself. Your family, friends, and your dog know all your habitual expressions, utterances, and movements but you may not.
How do dogs comfort you when you are sad?
Every dog displays empathy in different ways. Some might touch their owners while others give their owners space. There are also dogs that use the distraction method. They might cheer up their owner by dropping a ball at the feet of their owner or encourage their owner to accompany them outside.
What do dogs do when you cry?
There can be several ways that your dog will try to do to comfort you if you are crying or feeling blue. The truth is that the way that canines offer comfort to their owners is almost the same as how people comfort their dogs. The reactions of your dog to your emotional distress or crying may include distraction, physical contact, time out, and exercise.
But of course, companionship is the best comfort that dogs can offer. There are even professional therapy comfort canines that have been trained to sit noiselessly with people to offer nonjudgmental and silent support.
Is it bad to cry in front of your dog?
Previous studies have revealed that dogs can be very receptive when their owners are crying. The latest study even revealed that dogs will try breaking through barriers just to get to their crying owners. Dogs who heard the cries of their owners opened a door in an attempt of rescuing them.
Most dogs dong just approach a crying person as if they are trying to offer comfort because they also display some submissive behaviors to respond to the crying, something that is consistent with their empathy. Through this study, it is safe to say that the act of crying and not merely curiosity is the reason why dogs approach a person crying, whether it is their owner or complete strangers.
This only means that dogs notice human emotions and respond to them intentionally and this alone can be very comforting in itself. One reason why dogs are amazing companions to their owners is that they are not humans themselves.
Relationships among humans can be quite complex because of judgment, expectation, and language. With dogs, however, relationships are not that complicated. They are just comforting, loyal, and loving and they don’t demand anything in return.
So, while it might not be bad to cry in front of your dog, it would be better not to, especially if your dog is the type to come running to you every time you do so. You wouldn’t want your beloved pet to feel your sadness, right?
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