psychology

Apr

2020

Do Dogs Need Canine Friends?

Explorebehavior, psychology

If your pup is an “only dog” you might be feeling guilty that he doesn’t have any canine companions. After all, we humans thrive on friendships so shouldn’t our dogs be given the chance to make friends too? Plus, dogs are descended from wolves and you have likely heard they have a complex social structure with tight bonds between animals. Well, turns out the answer to the canine friends question is not so simple. Yes, our dogs are descended from wolves. But, when researchers from Washington State University at Pullman looked closer, they found that wolves’ social interactions couldn’t really…

Mar

2020

By Ellen Britt

Your Dog Knows If You Are A Bad Person

Explorepsychology, research

Most dog owners wouldn’t be surprised to know that their canine companions can sense human emotions. Research shows dogs can recognize the difference between an angry face and a happy face. Now new research from Japan’s Kyoto University shows that dogs can sense when a person is untrustworthy. The researchers based their experiment on the fact that when a human points at something, such as the location of food, a stick or a ball, the dog will go and explore what the person is pointing to. The scientists took 34 dogs and gave them three rounds of pointing. In round…