The study conducted by the Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland and published in “Plos One” sheds light on the relationship between man and his faithful four legs and may prove useful in the training of therapy puppies.
That dogs have a very fine sense of smell it is certainly not new. But now science has discovered that the faithful four-legged are also capable of smell human stress (even strangers) and this ability can be very useful in case you have to train guide dogs and those intended for therapy in cases of anxiety, panic attacks and post traumatic disorder. Conducted by Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland e published in “Plos One”the research involved four dogs – Treo, Fingal, Soot and Winnie – and 36 volunteers. The latter were asked to complete a difficult math test and self-report the stress level before and after the test. Scientists have took sweat and breath samples each time the person’s blood pressure and heart rate increased and they then subjected them to the dogs’ sense of smell, to see if they could identify the stress samples among the controls (taken four minutes before the experiment began) . Result: in 94% of the 720 olfactory tests performed the fours were able to alert the researchers to the correct stress sample.
Different smells
‘Research shows dogs don’t need visual or acoustic cues to sense human stress – explained Clara Wilson, one of the authors of the study -. The results show that we, as human beings, we produce different smells through sweat and breath when we are stressed and dogs can recognize them, even if it’s someone they don’t know. ‘ The excellent feedback has not only impressed the scholars, the owner of one of the dogs used for the experiment – the two-year-old cocker spaniel named Treo – was also fascinated. “The study made us more aware of a dog’s ability to use the nose to “see” the world – admitted Mrs. Helen Parks – and we believe that he has really developed Treo’s ability to perceive a change in emotions at home ».
October 1, 2022 (change October 1, 2022 | 15:42)
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