When was the last time you said “I love you” to your pet dog? Well, you may want to let them know how you feel about them more often because apparently, hearing those three words makes their hearts flutter. Dog owners have always had a hunch that their beloved pooch understands and feels more than we expect. And now we can stop guessing, because we now have scientific proof that our dogs truly have strong feelings for us too!
Canine Cottages conducted the study with the intention of learning more about what makes our dogs tick. We all know that certain gestures from our four-legged companion means something. A tail wag, whining coupled with some prancing, and pouncing are telltale signs that our pooch is excited about something. But Canine Cottages wasn’t about to stop there, so they sought the insight of a behavioral expert who specialized in canine behavior. At the end of their ‘experiment’, Canine Cottages learned plenty of things about how our dogs’ heart rates jump when we do or say certain things.
A study discovered how dogs’ heart rates respond when they hear their owners say “I love you”
“We all know that the wag of a tail, or a whine when we pick up a lead means our dogs are getting excited, but how excited are they really? We spoke to a behavioral expert for dogs, to find out the true meaning behind licks, barking, and more, but what is it that excites our dogs the most?”
Canine Cottages didn’t just watch how dogs would react to stimuli. Heart rate monitors were used to help Canine Cottages observe the real-time reaction of dogs in certain situations. Cuddles, snuggles and games were involved in this experiment, and it was a total success.
However, the most notable thing that Canine Cottages learned from the experiment was the heart-warming way dogs react when their human utters “I love you”! Apparently, their heart races when they hear us say these three words, despite the fact that they probably don’t know what it means when a person says it to someone else. During this experiment, the dogs’ heart rates went up a whopping 46.25%, which totally proves that our dogs care about us a whole lot!
Canine Cottages tapped canine behavior experts for the experiment
“We decided to put this to the test and measure how our dogs’ heart rate reacts to certain scenarios. Is it their owner coming home from work, or a kiss and an ‘I love you’ that really gets them going? We enlisted a number of our furry companions to help us answer the age-old question.”
This discovery brings about the age-old question that dog lovers have asked through the ages: just how intelligent are dogs? Well, several studies have proven that dogs do learn to understand certain words and also take queues from the tone of our voices and facial expressions. So it’s quite possible that when you tell them how much you care repeatedly with a gentle manner, they’ll begin to associate this as a positive message from you. And we all know how our pooches enjoy getting positive affirmation from us!
The study measured the bodily reactions of dogs during certain interactions with their humans
Hearing their human say certain phrases may make dogs’ hearts race. Meanwhile, certain bonding activities apparently lower our dog’s heart rate. Snuggling, they found, could lower a dog’s resting heart rate by 22.7%. This is most likely because being held by the ones we care about make us feel secure. These contrasting discoveries only goes to show that our dogs have unique responses to every stimuli, much like we do. Apparently, dog’s owners’ heart rates jumped an amazing 10.4% upon seeing their furry friend!
Your dog can show they love you in different ways
However, sometimes our canine friends express their feelings for us in ways we’d rather they didn’t, like chewing our things. All pet owners have been there, at some point in their dog-owning journey. In fact, coming home to a mess of mangled personal belongings is a rite of passage among dog owners! But don’t take it against your beloved furry companion. Apparently, they chew on our favorite things because it has our scent and it helps them calm down when they’re anxious and alone.
And there you have it. Next time you find a guilty Fido, don’t think that they did it out of spite. They just really, really wished you were there with them to play! After all, you (and your family) are quite literally the only thing their world revolves around. So don’t forget to let your pooch know how much you care about them before you go to sleep tonight!
Source: Canine Cottages