This is How Your Dog Knows When You’re Struggling

Your dog doesn’t experience the world in isolation. Research suggests dogs can detect emotional information through our scent, and one study found that long-term stress levels in dogs closely tracked those of their guardians. That doesn’t mean every anxious dog has an anxious human. Behavior is always shaped by genetics, learning history, environment, health, and many other factors. But if our dogs are constantly monitoring us, how much of their wellbeing depends not just on what we teach them, but on how we show up in the world ourselves? If you need help training your dog you can get instant access to my free training guide at Pupford.com/training Sources Sundman, AS., Van Poucke, E., Svensson Holm, AC. et al. Long-term stress levels are synchronized in dogs and their owners. Sci Rep 9, 7391 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-43851-x D'Aniello B, Semin GR, Alterisio A, Aria M, Scandurra A. Interspecies transmission of emotional information via chemosignals: from humans to dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). Anim Cogn. 2018 Jan;21(1):67-78. doi: 10.1007/s10071-017-1139-x. Epub 2017 Oct 7. PMID: 28988316.