Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff. From How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren vogelbam here, Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have confirmed
Speaker 1: what most dog owners already know. The dogs have strong
Speaker 1: emotional bonds with their owners and want to help when
Speaker 1: we're upset. In a paper titled in homage to Lassie
Speaker 1: Timmy's in the Well, Empathy and pro Social Helping in Dogs,
Speaker 1: published in eighteen issue of the journal Learning and Behavior,
Speaker 1: researchers described how dogs pushed through a door when they
Speaker 1: heard their owners crying. Lead author Emily Sandford, a graduate
Speaker 1: student in psychological and brain sciences, set in the paper
Speaker 1: we found dogs not only sense what their owners are feeling.
Speaker 1: If a dog knows a way to help them, they'll
Speaker 1: go through barriers to provide that help to them. Study
Speaker 1: found dogs may be hardwired to comfort us when we're sad,
Speaker 1: regardless of whether the dog knows us or not. When
Speaker 1: a stranger and the dog's owner cried, the dogs approached
Speaker 1: whoever was bawling in a submissive way. The dogs, the
Speaker 1: researchers concluded, responded empathetically to the person's emotions and not
Speaker 1: their own needs. But Sandford's research is the first to
Speaker 1: show that our beloved four legged friends are specifically moved
Speaker 1: to action when they see their owners in emotional distress.
Speaker 1: The experiment involved thirty four pet dogs of varying breeds.
Speaker 1: Some were big, some small. Here's how it all played out.
Speaker 1: Researchers told the dogs owners wanted a time to stand
Speaker 1: behind a clear door held shut by magnets. The owners
Speaker 1: dogs could see and hear what was going on. Researchers
Speaker 1: then had the humans hum Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star or
Speaker 1: pretend to cry. While not all the dogs opened the door,
Speaker 1: those that did opened it three times faster when they
Speaker 1: heard their owners crying instead of humming. Researchers also measured
Speaker 1: the dog's stress level. Those that were able to bolt
Speaker 1: through the door to rescue their owners showed less stress,
Speaker 1: even though they were upset by the crying. Even though
Speaker 1: they were upset, they weren't too frazzled to take action.
Speaker 1: Researchers concluded the dogs that didn't push the door open
Speaker 1: were more stressed out. It seems the researchers surmised those
Speaker 1: dogs were so troubled by their owners crying that they
Speaker 1: couldn't do anything to help. Sandford said dogs have been
Speaker 1: by the side of humans for tens of thousands of years,
Speaker 1: and they've learned to read our social cues. Dog owners
Speaker 1: can tell that their dogs sense their feelings. Our findings
Speaker 1: reinforced that idea and show that, like Lassie, dogs who
Speaker 1: know their people are in trouble might spring into action.
Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by John Paritano and produced by
Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. If you love our show and want to
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