1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:09,120 Speaker 1: brain Stuff Lauren bog Obam here with another classic episode 3 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: from our archives. This one concerns a bit of animal psychology. 4 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: If you've ever owned a dog and you've ever been 5 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: upset around it, the chances are good that it reacted 6 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 1: in some way. My Golden Show mix Chloe would always 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,480 Speaker 1: come lick my kneecaps when I got too sad, and 8 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 1: science has proven that dogs know what they're doing and 9 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 1: they want to help. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren bog obam here. 10 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:38,560 Speaker 1: Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have confirmed what most dog 11 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: owners already know. The dogs have strong emotional bonds with 12 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: their owners and want to help when we're upset. In 13 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: a paper titled in homage to Lassie Timmy's in the Well, 14 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:51,240 Speaker 1: Empathy and pro Social Helping in Dogs, published in a 15 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: issue of the journal Learning and Behavior, researchers described how 16 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: dogs pushed through a door when they heard their owners crying. 17 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: Lead author Emily Sandford, a graduate student in psychological and 18 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 1: brain sciences, set in the paper, we found dogs not 19 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:09,559 Speaker 1: only sense what their owners are feeling. If a dog 20 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: knows a way to help them, they'll go through barriers 21 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: to provide that help to them. A study found dogs 22 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: may be hardwired to comfort us when we're sad, regardless 23 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: of whether the dog knows us or not. When a 24 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,759 Speaker 1: stranger and the dog's owner cried, the dogs approached whoever 25 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: was bawling in a submissive way. The dogs, the researchers concluded, 26 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:32,560 Speaker 1: responded empathetically to the person's emotions and not their own needs. 27 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: But Sandford's research is the first to show that our 28 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:38,960 Speaker 1: beloved four legged friends are specifically moved to action when 29 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,960 Speaker 1: they see their owners in emotional distress. The experiment involved 30 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,199 Speaker 1: thirty four pet dogs of varying breeds. Some were big, 31 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: some small. Here's how it all played out. Researchers told 32 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 1: the dogs owners wanted a time to stand behind a 33 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: clear door held shut by magnets. The owners dogs could 34 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: see and hear what was going on. Researchers then had 35 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: humans hum Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star, or pretend to cry. 36 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: While not all the dogs opened the door, those that 37 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:09,920 Speaker 1: did opened it three times faster when they heard their 38 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: owners crying Instead of humming. Researchers also measured the dog's 39 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: stress level. Those that were able to bolt through the 40 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:21,160 Speaker 1: door to rescue. Their owners showed less stress even though 41 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 1: they were upset by the crying. Even though they were upset, 42 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: they weren't too frazzled to take action. The researchers concluded. 43 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: The dogs that didn't push the door open were more 44 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: stressed out. It seems the researchers surmised those dogs were 45 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,080 Speaker 1: so troubled by their owners crying that they couldn't do 46 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: anything to help. Sandford said, dogs have been by the 47 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: side of humans for tens of thousands of years, and 48 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: they've learned to read our social cues. Dog owners can 49 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: tell that their dogs sense their feelings. Our findings reinforced 50 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:52,520 Speaker 1: that idea and show that, like Lassie, dogs who know 51 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: their people are in trouble might spring into action. These 52 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: episode is based on the article Your Dog Really Wants 53 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:04,400 Speaker 1: to Help when You're Upset on how stuff Works dot Com, 54 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: written by John Paritano. Brain Stuff is production of I 55 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com, 56 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts my 57 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 58 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:16,799 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.