Thursday 25th August 2022
Anyone who has ever owned a dog, or even been around dogs for any length of time, will be familiar with their behaviour when their owner returns after being away ... whether for a very short time, for several hours or indeed for days or weeks. Jumping up, running round in excited circles, licking, crying - all of these and more. And now a small study has found that dogs can actually cry tears of joy when their owner returns.
While dogs are known to cry to keep their tear ducts clean, tears had not previously been linked to an emotional response. Takefumi Kikusui, one of the authors of this Japanese study, said they had never heard of dogs crying in joyful situations. During the experiment the researchers also studied whether a dog's tears affected their owners. They discovered that a dog's gaze stimulates the production of oxytocin, which brought out the desire to nurture and protect their pet.
Of course this was only a very small study, involving 22 dogs and there has been plenty of criticism by other scientists, seeking to disprove it. While scientific study is essential for us to understand what goes on both in our world and in an animals world, anyone who knows and loves dogs will be in no doubt about their emotional response to us and to varying situations, tears or no tears. My little three legged, Teddy, goes bananas when I come home, even if I have only gone down to the shop, which is 5 minutes away.
Although I have no objective knowledge, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that this behaviour is even more marked in rescue dogs. After all, they have either been mistreated, or dumped, they have been cared for in a shelter, longing for a golden basket but never sure if they will be lucky. Having once found a new forever family, they become attached to their new owner or owners, though this may take a long time, depending on the earlier trauma they have suffered. Consequently their fear of being abandoned once again can never be far away.
I remember reading a story about an adopted Ace dog, who hadn't been very long in his new forever home. The first time they took him out in the car he changed. He'd been a happy cheerful dog who was adopting well to his new home; now he became sad and fearful, cowering in the car, shivering and unhappy during the visit. Back in the car, he remained quiet and upset. And then .. the car turned into the driveway of his new home. He perked up, ears pricked, gazing out the window at the house. Out of the car he became the happy dog they had come to know. Perhaps in his sad little mind he had imagined that he was being dumped again. But no .. he was home again. He was safe.
For more about the Japanese experiment ... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-62645859
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