Can dogs sense emotion? - Horizon: The Secret Life of the Dog - BBC

Professor Daniel Mills explores whether dogs are able to sense people's emotions by looking at their facial expressions.
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[@N.A.M.LazyCloud]

I would look over at my dog and he would just stare at me attentively, but if I smiled, he would suddenly start wagging his tail, and get up to walk over to me.

[@slw.mk3]

Nero Masselli I know right! Its amazing

[@thedevilsrunner]

Dogs have no idea about context That is a great advantage.. We always have thoughts.. we over think.. they dont... You jus have to be happy.. they will be happy too.. jus clap your hands.. smile and jump .. he will be happy to .. try it.

[@ShyliacTheManiac]

aww

[@brianisme6498]

NLM my dogs always to lazy to do that. Half the time I have to come up to him when calling him.

[@MrIronoreo]

@@thedevilsrunner you type like my 70 year old grandma

[@DUSKvsDAWN]

I remember when I was little I used to be afraid if thunder. And our dog was allowed in our rooms at night. So when it was thundering at night, she would come to my room, jump on my bed and lay against me. She was amazing. Sadly she's been gone for 2 years now... She's been such a good friend and mental support to me... :(

[@typingcat]

Buy a new dog.

[@nothintoreadhere6168]

We don't fucking deserve dogs istg ;;n;;

[@tottenhamhotspurish]

@@typingcat - Shut up! Dogs are individuals, you can’t just replace them.

[@2beeksboys524]

@@tottenhamhotspurish I agree with you, you can't replace them but no need to say shut up they might not understand that like you and me

[@SumboodyNao]

@@tottenhamhotspurishyea you can, replace people as well

[@hypnos9336]

I was really depressed a long time ago and living in the basement of somebody's house and one of my jobs was to take care of their female german shepherd. She was such a smart and attentive dog. One day I was just having a horrible time and crying (quietly) and she came all the way downstairs to try and comfort me. It's like they can smell sadness.

[@amw7828]

💯

[@Nino_Z]

Dogs are awesome.

[@deannuna25]

I sympathize strongly.

[@jigmeg9777]

U mean pawsome 😉

[@brianisme6498]

Jigme g reeeeeeeee bad pun

[@jigmeg9777]

@@brianisme6498 you got too much time cuz of quarantine eh 🤣🤣

[@sauroman1]

Only if you feed it vegan diet

[@jameson3726]

When my family members are sad my 7 year old golden retriever always put her paw on their lap.

[@yezylol1089]

Jmd thats cute

[@typingcat]

Meaning, "Hey, aren't you forgetting to feed me?"

[@FutureAIDev2015]

My dog could always tell if I had a bad day at work; she'd look at me as if she was saying "I want a hug".

[@paulineprince4805]

I look at my rescue and I thank the universe for sending her now everyday. A few nights ago in one of my darkest moments, I kissed my children goodnight and went to my bedroom with tears in my eyes to “ sleep “ my dog did everything she could to scratch, and paw and whine at my door until I dropped what was in my hands and opened the door. She jumped in bed with me and just layed on my chest. When I thought not a soul in the world cared, she came to my rescue.. I can’t put into words how grateful I am to her... I absolutely love her even more now then I ever did before..

[@inspireresilience6413]

Yes its beautiful how empathic they sense and comfort you my in-laws dog would cry near me and lack me as I was feeling sad and they cheered me up because of their cute loving comforting caring heart😭💞😍🙏💖🐶😻

[@nuclearmusic77]

God sent it to you, not the universe :) Jesus loves you

[@Hackified]

My dog died a couple months back, it was devastating I want to get another but that whole will never be the same in my heart.

[@MsLoriGold]

2 years later after the passing of my precious Golden Bello, I now happily have a wonderful Golden named Kula. Each animal is unique with their own personality for certain! Kula is so observant and aware of things. Dogs are such incredible companions. I've even tried the 'still face experiments' moms have done with their babies - the mom plays with the baby, and they are happy then suddenly make no expression, then the baby tries to elicit a response from the mom, the baby becomes upset. The mom then re-engages happily with the baby and the baby is playful again. I've tried that with my Golden and he knows immediately that something is different and he responds similarly to the baby experiment with moms, trying to get a reaction from me. Even if I turn away or hide behind a blanket or scarf, or hide behind a book and call out 'find me' to my dog, he tries to make eye contact or find me and when he does he is so jolly and playful and proud of himself that he has found me or made 'eye contact' with me. I love my Doggy! :-)

[@Hilda_ogden]

MsLoriGold :)

[@byakurenbreak]

I could never be a narrator for these kind of things. I'd be as serious as I can for a few seconds, then I'd start trailing off and change my voice into a baby-like voice "And they're all cute and fluffy and snuggly, I just wanna pet them all day..."

[@temimakinde2377]

Right! 🤣🤣🤣

[@coddiwomple9510]

It's good that science can catch up to what every dog owner already knows.

[@olivetherat1573]

And THATS why dogs are man's best friends 😆👌

[@swimmer8585]

What did we do to deserve dogs?

[@happydays6649]

swimmer8585 Breed them, give them a home and food , medical treatment and et cetera

[@Cruuzy]

We created them

[@typingcat]

Mostly food.

[@cp25170funnyguy]

We gave them food and shelter and they gave us protection and unconditional love.

[@danielromero001]

They enjoy our amazing tech that's what we did

[@MrBen41234]

Now I want a dog :/ Why did I watch this video?

[@swimmer8585]

dogs are amazing friends who will be with you a lifetime, eve after they're gone. get one

[@MrBen41234]

I would if my parents would allow me to. Sadly, they just keep telling me that it will be something to look forward to when I grow up and move away.

[@yahya2925]

Get a shih tzu. They don't shed, and they're very tidy and love routine and they quickly learn where to pee and when. And they usually tend to themselves. They're very independent dogs by nature. Most are sometimes stubborn and mean, but they have soft periods and those times are precious :)

[@thevillageyid]

did you get a dog yet? and remember its a huge responsibility.

[@pitsy1984]

I hope my dog reads my emotions otherwise ive wasted years making faces at him

[@fabiolapressler1097]

My dog could mostly sense food. One minute, the barker would be sound asleep, but soon as I pop a can open, he would be at my knee begging for scraps.

[@c.c.541]

dogs communicate through body language. naturally, they're good at reading it. they are very observant. if you are paying attention, you would notice how often your dog is staring at you.

[@iuboe6802]

I'm never gona get mad at my dog anymore because I know he loves me and he knows I love him

[@preranab3627]

Dogs are such amazing beings ❤️ my pup is my love !!

[@TK_GX]

One day, I was walking to the bus stop. I saw a white and black dog. They looked sad, but they followed me. I was really depressed that day. He didn't growl at me or bark, he was just looking at me with these sad eyes like somehow he knew I was just as sad. Eventually, he left me be, and moved on. Later that same day, when I got the bus back home, I saw the same dog again. He was barking and growling at someone else walking past. The other person looked more aggressive, tattoos, a tough kind of demeanor. I noticed this and was wondering why he acted that way with the other person but with me was the complete opposite. I had never met this dog. Whenever I walk to the bus stop, and see the same dog, he always sits and looks at me, and doesn't bark nor growl. It is like he somehow senses I am not a danger or threat but also can sense I am depressed or sad inside. But with other people who go past sometimes, who seem more mysterious, he will bark or growl at them. To this day I can't explain it. It is like the dog knows somehow inside I am not a bad person or knows I am gentle and not a threat. I have experienced this with dogs my whole life. I've never had a dog pet. I should get one maybe.

[@acemnoracddlmno3948]

Definitely, my sister has several learning difficulties which prevents her from realising her faulty behaviour towards our dog. She often smacks him on the nose for *discipline* and shes been told several times by us all to not be so harsh on our Boston terrier, yet she utmost believes she is in the right. When she “punishes” the dog, you can see a very large change in his demeanour as he becomes visibly sad and is in pain. I hope one day my sister sees how she is treating him incorrectly. We do NOT deserve dogs, even despite the fact we care for their entire lives and all they do is be alive we still don’t deserve them, they are such a great form of self therapy for many people and are extremely precious. Dogs > Humans.

[@mainaccount3087]

My dog could mostly sense food. One minute, the barker would be sound asleep, but soon as I pop a can open, he would be at my knee begging for scraps.

[@Arty_McParty]

I mean.... They are smart animals... and if you add 30,000 years of constant presense of one another... yeah They better read us and we better read them!... That's why we are best friends! I mean "THEY ARE OUR BEST FRIENDS"

[@mattnottage9474]

Dogs are my favorite animals

[@daviniarobbins9298]

I was feeling sad about an hour ago. My dog started sitting very close to me and started licking my face and ears. Dogs do know when you are upset or feeling sad and low.

[@johndotcue]

My dog knows when I'm really tired and stuff. Normally I am very playful and close to my dog and he would just start barking with excitement. But if I get home from a really long day at work and I'm too tired to play with him, he'll just come near me, sometimes give me a lick or two, and just sit next to me calmly as I give him head massages. Granted, he wasn't always like this. When he was a pup up until around 1 year old, he was extremely excitable and didn't really know how to handle me being tired and exhausted. Guess he learned how to read my resting bitch face haha

[@dougstyles]

Absolutely no doubt. When I get angry ,my pup puts her head on my lap,or chest. It calms me down immediately. (I suffer from PTSD)

[@randylaffy7679]

i worked at an animal hospital before and i can say that dogs are supernatural sometimes. When we had bad owners bring in dogs i would feed them treat them like my fellow humans lol, and when i treated them better then their owner raised them they would sometimes not want to leave me. it was rare but there.

[@dutchessandkay2280]

Well you see this in every guilty dog compilation after they tear or eat stuff they really know they're not supposed to. They just look at you, know you're angry, and display omega wolf traits (submissive behavior.) Most people don't even say things to begin with, the dog just knows what they did was wrong and immediately go into submissive behavior without anyone being verbal... so all of this makes so much sense. And maybe it is that they didn't know it was wrong at first, maybe they just read your face and THEN they think "uh oh "and then display the behavior in the wild. If you notice in a wolf pack when they are eating the alpha eats first... The omega will try to sneak in there and get some meat from time to time but if you notice, some alpha wolves will just look at the omega aggressively and then the omega shows the submissive behavior and leave.

[@jayanimations494]

I was experiencing a panic attack and my dog came to my rescue, i picked him up placed him on my chest and he layed there on guard, i love him

[@orangie84]

next scientists will find that other animals have their own ways of reading our emotions... and it will take them another 30 years for that... Yet here i am telling everyone that animals can.... all one has to do is OO watch them

[@Dayl_Adams]

Well you actually need evidence for such claims...which is hard to get...

[@Bear-nu8xm]

When my dog is looking directly at me ,while happy, he raises his lip like Elvis.

[@JamieBainbridge]

This is my absolute favourite dog fact. What awesome research!

[@samwrihiro]

Don't tell me you weren't trying to figure out what side of his face you were naturally looking at during the video.

[@gingerr8015]

Could the side of the face people look at be based on the direction people read? Like in languages that read right to left still look at the the same side?

[@THOUGHTCTRL]

Dogs can sense when someone is a bad or good person. Your dog may not know the moral decisions a person has made, but he can pick up on signs of nervousness, fear, anger, and danger. We have covered a Video on a Research Made to understand if Dogs can sense if a Person is Good or Bad. Do Check Out : kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGiQmYdua6hppdU

[@winterwraith8339]

I was like cats can tooo!!! but my cat looked everwhere but my face

[@brendonlaucheekeong636]

Left side of the human face look like another person and right side of the face look like another person, that what the dog is looking at. I saw a girl right side of her face look like ryoko Hirosue my favorite's Drama star. Her nose is sharp and when she breath her inner nose that divider(divide her nose hole) can move.

[@SoulThief88]

What I'd like to know if this is also true for people who learn to read from right-to-left, instead of left-to-right. Aren't most people 'programmed' to look that way because that's how text is written?

[@jadynjones7205]

but dogs don't read, so where did they learn it?

[@jadynjones7205]

They could just be watching and copying us, but then dogs with left-handed owners would read a face from right to left and I dont they found any dogs like that

[@ginunggagap]

i got here coz was wondering why dogs would go aggressive ,bark or chase other people ,but they never do it to me.. sometimes i would just touch an unknown dog and it just lets me... sometimes i try scaring them like im the dog, and it always works... i must be evil, mosquitoes dont even bite me...

[@gernm18]

They can bark for all kinds of reasons. As far as being aggressive well that depends; they are more territorial than us. Chasing people ? to bite? what dddid the people do to the dogs?

[@Henrikbuitenhuis]

Thanks from Denmark

[@ButtersTheBean]

That's simple, yes.

[@lancelotray]

Bonobo's may be our closest cousins, but Dogs are our best friend. Bro, i love my dog... :)

[@holohulolo]

i wonder if the left bias is because we read and wirte from left. Even though there are languages that traditionally reads from right it would be difficult to test since even those languages such as mandarin has adopted the left to right horizontal in most thing instead of right to left vertical.

[@andrevvvvv]

Isn't it much more likely that dogs simply smell our emotions?

[@loneeagle6026]

@@TheIllusionofObjectivity-yw8rf I like that.

[@elijah420stuffs2]

This is also true. Dogs sniff each other parts (specially intimate parts), because in that way they "express" emotions. Depending on their mood they have different type of smell. For us instead they read our body language

[@deannuna25]

Always lovely dogs.♥

[@nb1861]

This video just describes the eye movement, it gives no specific or precise information about if dogs can sense emotion nor how they do it.

[@lairdriver]

A Dog can literally hear our insides going sad

[@davec3651]

This gives zero indication that dogs feel or understand emotions. Just that they may look in human's faces a certain way. They may instinctively understand this to be a way to get a human's attention in order to get something they want from a human. This requires no empathy, understanding or feeling of emotion, other than a simple desire to receive something.

[@jadalexie6585]

When I'm at my aunts house and I'm sad her dog always comes over to me and cuddles with me or tries to play

[@francoblanco7773]

The difference on the left and right side don't look any different just the lighting. The light is what makes it look different

[@LivingDeadbeat]

amazing

[@Stacy_Smith]

WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! I'm no scientist/biologist. As a matter of fact I'm a truck driver, but thare are 2 known facts with dogs. #1 Their PRIMARY sense is smell. Their sense of smell is VERY acute. #2 When we are nervous, excited, sad, happy, angry, horny, ect., we have different levels of hormones and neurotransmitters in our bodies. These include but are not limited to: Adrenaline, serotonin, dopamine, testosterone, estrogen, and the list goes on and on. My dog HATES bravery/confidence! She feels threatened by it. We had a drug bust where we used to live. The cops set off a flash bang between our trailers and accidentally busted in our door first and exclaimed "WRONG HOUSE!" ever since then she has HATED the police, fire fighters, servicemen, etc. EVEN WHEN THEY ARE OUT OF UNIFORM! She doesn't like the way confident people smell. Any officer will tell you that when pulling someone over or responding to a domestic violence situation they have to take a mentally aggressive stance to be ready. A fire fighter responding to a fire must do the same thing. EMT same thing. Service members (especially US Marines) are very cocky. This fight or flight mentality changes your body chemistry. THAT'S NOT A THEORY! THAT'S A FACT. Dogs have a very keen sense of smell. THAT'S NOT A THEORY! THAT'S A FACT. The ONLY thing that is theory is if there is a correlation between these two FACTS. If there is... Dogs could be used in airports and public places to root out terrorists! Wouldn't someone who is angry and nervous smell angry and nervous? You could train dogs to signal authorities by lacing clothes with the right biochemicals during training.

[@BeautyHealthZoneBlog]

Yes, they are very sensitive animals and they can tell when a person is no good and up to no good.

[@cagkanbozdogan]

would be really good if you put videos with english subtitle

[@mikhsly2]

i love dogs

[@clonewarrior1999]

Well we did evolve them to fit our needs.

[@TahishaArvo]

interesting, but but what about the emotions, themselves? when you're not looking at the face? can they *feel* it?

[@ankushkoul7912]

Similar thing was belived for cows in India that they understand human behaviour as they were domesticated for thousands of years... Now they are not and people have started eating them.

[@D20000]

Dogs are the best

[@kevyn808]

My neighbors dog literally looked at me and i smiled amd started wagging his tail. They wre extremely perceptive and amazing!!!

[@lancelotxavier9084]

How does my dog know when I am thinking about administering her medicine? She hides.

[@bob-xc5bh]

It’s crazy when I’ve had a rough day my dog would just walk up to me and sit by me

[@avavago]

Is the music that starts at 2:32 an actual song

[@wolfy1987]

Wonder if the same is true for cats. When I'm having a bad day or in a bad mood my cat tends to be a lot more attentive

[@ashleyhynes2124]

I love dogs 🐶❤️

[@seachangeau]

hmm is it because most of us are right handed? so the food and interesting stuff is coming to them from that side they can just flick their gaze down fast from the face to the hands - lets test dogs owned by left handed people?

[@angelicagarcia9406]

i was crying outside with my dog and i was crying and devistated and she put her head on my leg and closed her eyes 🥺

[@dariuszmarcinkowski7191]

Yes they can, but however their sense is extremely limited it only few emotions, Humans feel emotions that animals don't even know exist

[@zackron1564]

1:35 Marley

[@Dogman690]

that means that dogs figured out we do this before we did!

[@KenGammonsgoobwithacamera]

Hear that Seamus? Look to the left then run like hell!!!!

[@loneeagle6026]

Knock

[@91rummy]

I think all animals can do that.. its only human inability to realize that and connect with them..

[@confidencenwachukwu5642]

I did not understand what you saying.

[@Filthyheartz]

We look left first because thats how we learned to read

[@frnt2bak]

Lol humans have known this for thousands of years, long before science was a thing.

[@TheChickenlittle11]

It sounds like the guy from Underworld

[@zonepistolez9944]

Yes yes, dogs know the obvious signs. Where's the owners who's dogs assume and behaved timidly just because your silent? Then, them acting timid and scared does annoy you due to them moving slow or not following orders, so you end up getting frustrated but you wasn't at all until they mistook your silence for anger when you haven't done anything but move silent due to it being 6am and folks are sleep. And I just woke so I'm not going to be chipper and talkative period. There's things about dogs people don't talk about on the internet much. Like the reality. Not all that fake "no bad dogs" or dogs are very smart crap. They're smart to a degree. But lack commonality. Like thinking everything is out to kill them but it's not a site you guys ever see on daily walks. Or thinking it's ok to attack and kill others people's pets. When they are a pet and they wouldn't want to be attack and killed on a walk.

[@DianaHernandez-fe9io]

Of course they can even better than my fellows

[@VoiceseekingService]

বাংলায় করুন

[@hopecampbell4149]

My dog can even tell when I'm sick

[@typingcat]

What the... Why did I see the right side of those human faces?

[@tristan4175]

Keep in mind that dogs can't recognize guilt, shame and pride because they are too complex emotions. They can't feel them nor recognize these emotions themselves.

[@acgraphics1139]

How do u know my dog can

[@tristan4175]

@@acgraphics1139 your dog isn't special. It's just like any other dog. No animal has complex emotions sich as guilt and pride. We have proof of that since we can look at the dogs brain through an (f)MRI machine and study their brain activity in certain parts of their brain, such as their amygdala.

[@johnpoop5237]

They can smell it

[@johnpoop5237]

They can probably smell the puke on your breath when you get nervous, angry or any type of “agitation,” they’ll call happiness agitation now it you express it too fully.

[@josephkim1167]

That’s it, am getting a dog

[@jakobmorris1483]

hi guys we have a 3d spinner for your phone

[@royalbloodedledgend]

Cats do this, they just don’t care

[@realmrjangoon]

I watch cuz their cute lol

[@kmlevel]

Another day. Another abrupt BBC ending.

[@jannettepeltier489]

Why is the first dog in this video in a cruel head basket?!!!!NOT GOOD

[@uncarvedexit]

Maybe they use smell to sense emotion

[@ThePolkadog]

Hey, I have a Muslim friend and she appreciates dogs even if it she is unable to touch them.

[@loneeagle6026]

THATS FUNNY BECAUSE ID LOVE TO TOUCH YOU RIGHT NOW.

[@loneeagle6026]

Since I'm Gay And All

[@faustrol1571]

jou mama

[@orangie84]

There is only one other change I would like to see in this world... stop calling a dog (or animal) a "pet"... Animals are our "companions" They are never "just" an animal or JUST a pet... They are a life with emotions and feelings.. And they are there with us at our side to see us through thick and thin.. they help us protect us and will even as they say take a bullet for us at times.... So what do we do... oh bad stuff... Cut that snip that trim that and then call them "pets" and treat them like throw pillows... how arrogant and self centered us humans can be.... To some they may be just pets or just animals... Yeah well humans are just demons... thats how I see it... think what some of us do to animals... just >< think about that..

[@amgism]

Humans don't deserve dogs

[@etownvintagebuys5665]

This isn't just with dogs. It's any pet you form a bond with. I'm sure a wild dog/animal wouldn't do this. Any animal you're around for long periods of time will learn to read you or any other animal it's around a lot. This is common sense. Why would you need science to explain this.

[@timoteooo94]

Make a man face at a dog n they’ll bark or growl

[@sokgans]

oh man, this research is so bad!

[@paranoia1337]

Tim Bergen Thank you for your useless and empty critique. If you have anything valuable to say to discredit this research, I would like to hear it.

[@sokgans]

Neh, no time for that now to explain that to some useless youtuber.

[@paranoia1337]

Very convincing.

[@MrKillerBeatsZ]

***** reaguurders?

[@zahracamal6627]

1:47 not this Friday night Freddy!!😭😹🖕

[@reemelzarouni9639]

i am a muslims and i have a dog and i love her and im not missing anything

[@mops7081]

reem el zarouni You don't need to tell what kind of religion you have

[@kevinvandijk4557]

BS research christ that's done so bad.

[@blackstars6512]

Kevin Van Dijk do it better then