1
00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,080
Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff. From How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,

2
00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:11,400
Speaker 1: Lauren vogelbam here, Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have confirmed

3
00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:14,760
Speaker 1: what most dog owners already know. The dogs have strong

4
00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:17,400
Speaker 1: emotional bonds with their owners and want to help when

5
00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,720
Speaker 1: we're upset. In a paper titled in homage to Lassie

6
00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,200
Speaker 1: Timmy's in the Well, Empathy and pro Social Helping in Dogs,

7
00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,480
Speaker 1: published in eighteen issue of the journal Learning and Behavior,

8
00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:31,320
Speaker 1: researchers described how dogs pushed through a door when they

9
00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:36,000
Speaker 1: heard their owners crying. Lead author Emily Sandford, a graduate

10
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,000
Speaker 1: student in psychological and brain sciences, set in the paper

11
00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,479
Speaker 1: we found dogs not only sense what their owners are feeling.

12
00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:44,560
Speaker 1: If a dog knows a way to help them, they'll

13
00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:49,120
Speaker 1: go through barriers to provide that help to them. Study

14
00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:51,920
Speaker 1: found dogs may be hardwired to comfort us when we're sad,

15
00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:54,680
Speaker 1: regardless of whether the dog knows us or not. When

16
00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,000
Speaker 1: a stranger and the dog's owner cried, the dogs approached

17
00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,160
Speaker 1: whoever was bawling in a submissive way. The dogs, the

18
00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:05,280
Speaker 1: researchers concluded, responded empathetically to the person's emotions and not

19
00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,520
Speaker 1: their own needs. But Sandford's research is the first to

20
00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:12,039
Speaker 1: show that our beloved four legged friends are specifically moved

21
00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:14,959
Speaker 1: to action when they see their owners in emotional distress.

22
00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:18,880
Speaker 1: The experiment involved thirty four pet dogs of varying breeds.

23
00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,440
Speaker 1: Some were big, some small. Here's how it all played out.

24
00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:25,800
Speaker 1: Researchers told the dogs owners wanted a time to stand

25
00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,640
Speaker 1: behind a clear door held shut by magnets. The owners

26
00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:33,240
Speaker 1: dogs could see and hear what was going on. Researchers

27
00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,240
Speaker 1: then had the humans hum Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star or

28
00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,960
Speaker 1: pretend to cry. While not all the dogs opened the door,

29
00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,280
Speaker 1: those that did opened it three times faster when they

30
00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:47,760
Speaker 1: heard their owners crying instead of humming. Researchers also measured

31
00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:51,000
Speaker 1: the dog's stress level. Those that were able to bolt

32
00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,240
Speaker 1: through the door to rescue their owners showed less stress,

33
00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:57,120
Speaker 1: even though they were upset by the crying. Even though

34
00:01:57,160 --> 00:01:59,840
Speaker 1: they were upset, they weren't too frazzled to take action.

35
00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:03,360
Speaker 1: Researchers concluded the dogs that didn't push the door open

36
00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:07,559
Speaker 1: were more stressed out. It seems the researchers surmised those

37
00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,240
Speaker 1: dogs were so troubled by their owners crying that they

38
00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:14,200
Speaker 1: couldn't do anything to help. Sandford said dogs have been

39
00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:16,720
Speaker 1: by the side of humans for tens of thousands of years,

40
00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:19,680
Speaker 1: and they've learned to read our social cues. Dog owners

41
00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:22,720
Speaker 1: can tell that their dogs sense their feelings. Our findings

42
00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,119
Speaker 1: reinforced that idea and show that, like Lassie, dogs who

43
00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:28,640
Speaker 1: know their people are in trouble might spring into action.

44
00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:36,720
Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by John Paritano and produced by

45
00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:39,120
Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. If you love our show and want to

46
00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,359
Speaker 1: wear your heart on your sleeve, check out our new

47
00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:44,680
Speaker 1: shop t public dot com slash brain Stuff for shirts

48
00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:48,119
Speaker 1: and lots of other merchandise, and, of course, for more

49
00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,000
Speaker 1: on this and other helpful topics, visit our home planet,

50
00:02:51,320 --> 00:03:04,000
Speaker 1: how Stuff Works dot com