Your dog misses you when you're not here, do you know why?
Those who have a dog or have had a dog will know perfectly that when they get home their pet is waiting for them . If you are one of the lucky ones that has been able to benefit from the company of a sure you sound this, because when you open the door of your home you see it coming from the living room, hurriedly, to be able to throw itself on you.
Dogs are an excellent company and, although some do not understand it, they create a close relationship with their caregivers. So much to give his life for him. But do you really miss a dog to its owner when it is not there? What happens inside his hairy head when he is absent? In today's article you will find out.
How dogs understand the absence of their owner
Surely on the internet you've seen thousands of videos that have gone viral in which you can see dogs behaving like humans. Some cry when they hear sad songs, others even sing to the rhythm of the melody.
But do they really seem to understand that the song they are listening to is about heartbreak? Are dogs as smart as humans? Possibly not, but this behavior is the result of associative learning .
Dogs have the same emotional competence as a three-year-old child
Scientists have proven that, just like humans, Dogs have a greater capacity to remember when there are emotional ties in those memories . And it seems to be, at least so the researchers say, that dogs have the same emotional competence as a three-year-old child.
They are able to feel emotions such as happiness, love or anger, and, as you have surely observed yourself, they are surprised and feel afraid. Now, according to the same study, they are not able to feel some socially complex emotions, such as pride.
Regarding the issue that we address today, dogs may not understand the absence of their owner in full, but they are likely to miss him . According to Stanley Coren, professor at the University of British Columbia and author of the book The Wisdom of Dogs: "The emotional life of dogs is very similar to that of a child of two years or three years. Children at these ages show love, enjoyment, fear, anger or surprise, but usually do not show emotions of a higher level as shame. "
Dogs receive their owners more intensively when they have spent more time
It is clear that the dog is deluded when he sees his master arrive. But if it is not there, do you know how much time has passed? The truth is that dogs can tell the difference between 10 minutes and 10 hours without having a watch.
That's what a study carried out in 2011 by Therese Rehn and Linda Keeling says. In their research they found that, after 2 hours, the dogs acted more intensely when they saw their owners. This suggests that dogs do miss their owners when they are not near them . However, there were no significant differences between the 2 and 4 hours of absence of the owner.
A special relationship between dogs and their owners
And is that the relationship between a dog and a man is not a relationship either. Affection becomes visible on many occasions. But it is surprising that this relationship even goes further for many individuals: it becomes a therapeutic relationship.
The dog is the most used animal within the Assisted Therapies with Animals (TAA) , since it is a close and easily educated animal, that can help both patients from different groups: children, adolescents, the elderly, the mentally ill ... individually or as a group.
The benefits of dog therapy
Dogs, therefore, they are useful in this sense because they help improve the health and well-being of patients and provide them with a very valuable company . For Boris Levinson, a psychologist who has carried out different investigations to learn more about the benefits of therapy with dogs, he affirms that "dogs are not only a pleasant therapy, but also have benefits on a physical, psychological and social level.
Therefore, patients who benefit from this type of therapy show:
- A better mood
- More attention
- Less depression and monotony
- Less feeling of loneliness
- Lower levels of anxiety and stress
- Greater social and physical contact
- They have an incentive and motivation
- They perceive therapy as pleasant
- They develop leisure skills
- Greater mental stimulation
If you want to continue reading about this form of therapy, you can read our article: "The benefits of dog therapy".