Is it true that dogs can feel human fear?

It is common that dogs feel when a person is afraid of them. We decided to check if this is really possible.

Information that the dogs Feel The smell of fear is possible Meet On thematic Portalsdedicated to this animals, on cognitive resources, V Media And glossy magazines, on blogs "Zena". Users ask about this in the services questions And answers. 

The sense of smell in dogs is much better developed than in people. So, these animals There are about 200 million olfactory receptors in the nose, while with us in total about 6 million. It is because of this sensitivity that they are so often used for Search missing people or discovery explosives. Eat grounds To believe that dogs can even be trained in people cancer at an early stage. In addition, these animals have a separate olfactory body that is responsible for “chemical communication” - Jacobson organ. Nerve cells transmit signals directly into the brain in it and serve to detect a number of substances, the smell of which is almost impossible to catch with ordinary smell. Basically, the Jacobson organ is used for intraspecific communication, but perhaps it can help dogs and determine the emotions of people. So can dogs really sniff our fear?

More recently It was consideredthat there is no evidence of this. However, in 2017, a group of researchers conducted experiment: In random male donors who do not participate in further trials, they took samples of sweat from armpits in various emotional states-fear and happiness. Then, during the basic study, scientists placed dogs (golden retrievers and labradors), their owners and strangers and sprayed the same sweat in one room. The dogs that fell into the premises with a “happy” smell behaved more friendly - they were more actively in contact with outsiders, they had a calm heartbeat. On the contrary, the dogs that fell into the “Room of Fear” experienced stress and significant increased heart rate. This, in turn, can cause aggression, since natural reaction For the danger necessary for the survival of animals - "hit, freeze or run."

In very fresh research 2022, another group of scientists decided to check the conclusions of their colleagues. 36 participants in the study took samples of sweat and breathing. Then they were offered to make complex arithmetic calculations in the mind and after that they took the samples again. Stress of participants was confirmed by both their own evidence and physiological indicators. After that, four dogs were supposed to determine the "stress" samples. At the first stage, they were offered three samples: one “stress” and two empty. On the second - “stress”, initial (taken at the beginning of the experiment, to mathematical exercises) and empty. As a result, the accuracy of the dogs determining breathing samples and sweat in a state of stress was 93.75%.

Apparently, our sweat really changes the smell when we experience severe stress. Eat researchwho confirm that even people, having a much weaker sense of smell than that of dogs, are able to capture the “smell of fear” and react to it. How exactly this happens, scientists have not yet established, since people, unlike many animals, do not have an organ that would be responsible for the perception of pheromones (which is why perfumes with pheromones, as we are already They wrotedo not work).

Like animals, people too inherent reaction "beat, freeze or run" (sometimes Select Another reaction is Fawn (English), “Lay, Light”). If our brain chooses the options for “hit” or “run”, the muscles are reflexively contracted and the dog can notice these unconscious gestures. It is worth noting that dogs may not identify the smell or body move, which they feel and see, just like fear. They simply regard them as a threat to themselves, also begin to experience stress and, in turn, choose how to react. If this is an option “hit”, the dog can attack.

In fact, dogs are really good in capturing human emotions, and sometimes it even comes to synchronization. So, in dogs whose owners have long been stressed for a long time, the level of stress hormone - cortisol increases significantly.

Thus, recent studies have confirmed that dogs are really able to distinguish the smell of a person in a stressful situation-it does not matter, because of a meeting with a dog or for any other reasons. They may not understand that this is precisely fear, but this stress is transmitted to them and animals can show aggression. 

Is it true

What do our verdicts mean?

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