Scientists have discovered that dogs can smell stress in a personʼs breath and sweat.
The BBC writes about it.
Researchers from the Royal University of Belfast conducted an experiment. Four dogs for 36 people participated in it. People were asked to solve a complex math problem, their blood pressure and heart rate were measured, and biological samples were taken. Pets chose one of three odor canisters. In more than 650 out of 700 cases, the dogs successfully identified the sweat or breath pattern of a person under stress.
"Weʼve had a lot of evidence that dogs can pick up human odors that are associated with certain diseases, but we donʼt have a lot of evidence that they can sense differences in our psychological state," lead researcher Clara Wilson noted.
Scientists are confident that their research will help train therapy dogs.
- Previously, researchers found that dogs can cry from positive emotions, and also learned that monkeypox can be transmitted to pet dogs.