Your dog misses you when you’re away, do you know why?

Man's best friend: new scientific evidence on canine 'emotions'.

Those who have a dog or have ever had a dog will know perfectly well that when you get home your pet is waiting for you.. If you are one of the lucky ones who has been able to benefit from the company of a canine, you will surely be familiar with this, because when you open the door of your home you see him coming from the living room, in a hurry, so that he can pounce on you.

Dogs are an excellent companion and, although some do not understand it, they create a close relationship with their caregivers. To the point of giving their lives for him. But does a dog really miss his owner when he's away? What goes on inside his furry little head when he's absent? In today's article you'll find out.

How dogs understand their owner's absence

Surely you have seen thousands of videos on the internet that have gone viral in which you can see dogs behaving like humans. Some of them cry when they hear sad songs, others even sing along to the melody.

But do they really seem to understand that the song they are listening to is about heartbreak? Are dogs just as intelligent as humans? Possibly not, but rather, 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 ability to remember emotions than humans, dogs have a greater capacity to remember when there are emotional links in those memories.. And it appears, at least according to the researchers, that canines have the same emotional competence as a three-year-old child.

They are capable of feeling emotions such as happiness, love or anger, and, as you have probably observed yourself, they are surprised and feel fear. However, according to the same study, they are not able to feel some socially complex emotions, such as pride.

As for today's topic, dogs may not fully understand the absence of their owner, but they probably miss him or her.. 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 two- or three-year-old child. Children at these ages show love, joy, fear, anger or surprise, but they don't usually show higher-level emotions such as embarrassment."

Dogs welcome their owners more intensely when more time has passed.

It is clear that the dog gets excited when he sees his master arriving. But if he's not there, does he 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.

So says a study conducted in 2011 by Therese Rehn and Linda Keeling. In their research they found that, after 2 hours, dogs acted more intensely when they saw their owners. This suggests that dogs do miss their owners when their owners are not near them.. However, there were no significant differences between 2 and 4 hours of owner absence.

A special relationship between dogs and their owners

The relationship between a dog and a man is not just any relationship. The affection is visible on many occasions. But it is surprising that this relationship goes even further for many individuals: it becomes a therapeutic relationship.

The dog is the most widely used animal within the Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)The dog is a close and easily educable animal that can help patients from different groups: children, adolescents, elderly, mentally ill ... individually and in groups.

The benefits of therapy with dogs

Dogs, therefore, are useful in this sense because they help to improve the health and well-being of patients and provide them with valuable companionship.. For Boris Levinson, a psychologist who has carried out various investigations to learn more about the benefits of therapy with dogs, states that "canines are not only a pleasant therapy, but it presents benefits both physically, psychologically and socially.

Therefore, patients who benefit from this type of therapy show:

• A better mood
• Increased attention
• Less depression and monotony
• Less feeling of loneliness
• Lower levels of anxiety and stress
• Increased social and physical contact
• Have an incentive and motivation
• Perceive therapy as enjoyable
• Develop leisure skills
• Increased mental stimulation

If you want to continue reading about this form of therapy, you can read our article: "The benefits of therapy with dogs".