Dogs Smell Our Fear - But React Individually

It has been known for some time that dogs can smell a person's fear. Until now, it was unclear whether they react to the smell itself or to visible signals such as body posture and behavior. A research team from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna has now proven: Dogs react directly to the smell of fear – and in very different ways.

Scent samples without human contact

The study was published in the journal "Frontiers in Veterinary Science." The experiments took place in the "Domestication Lab" of the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology (KLIVV).

For the study, the researchers presented the dogs with sweat samples from people who were experiencing fear – for example, while watching horror movies – as well as neutral samples. Importantly, the dogs did not meet the people themselves, only the scent, to exclude visual stimuli.

Not every dog keeps a distance from fear sweat

The reactions were surprisingly diverse: Some animals behaved avoidantly, lowered their tails, or hesitated. Others, however, approached the fear-laden samples faster than the neutral ones. This contradicts previous studies that assumed a more uniform withdrawal behavior of the animals.

"There seems to be no consistent pattern that dogs have an innate tendency to avoid fear scents," according to a release from the Vetmed-Uni. The reactions are apparently individually different – possibly influenced by experience, training, or breed.

For the study's lead author Svenja Capitain, it is clear: The results show "that dogs are influenced by human fear scents – but their reactions are anything but uniform." Further research is necessary to understand what exactly shapes the reaction patterns.

(Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.