Anyone who’s had a pet will tell you that it can feel like your dog really does understand you and your feelings.
Whether they come over to rest their head on your knee when you’re upset or get excited and start wagging away when you’re happy, your pet can seem very perceptive indeed…
And now, scientists have confirmed that your furry BFF really can read your mood.
In fact, they’re probably better at understanding your feelings than you are at reading theirs…
That’s according to Sophie Scott, professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London, who believes that domesticated dogs’ social skills make them more adept at reading humans than the other way around.
Meanwhile, Scott says that humans often misinterpret their four-legged friends, Mail Online reports.
Scott, who will present her findings at the upcoming Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, believes that the difference could be down to the way in which dogs and humans view each other.
While research on domesticated wolves has suggested that dogs see their owners as the alpha animals in their pack, we tend to look at our pets like small children, leading to misunderstandings…
Speaking to The Times, Scott explained: ‘There was a study this year that showed that dogs don’t like being hugged.
‘You look at photographs of dogs being hugged by people and the dogs show objective signs of distress.
‘The dogs really like being with their owners, they want to be with their owners, but they don’t want to be held. It provokes anxiety in them: as an animal, they want to be able to move freely.
‘And pretty much everyone’s reaction to this was: well, I don’t think that’s my dog. It was a very good example of this asymmetry.
She concluded: ‘Dogs are great at reading us but we are pretty shocking at reading them.’
So, there you have it, it looks like we need to give our pets a bit more credit…
