The scientists determined that the release of oxytocin, considered the ‘love hormone’, is an important part of the production of tears in dogs in the presence of their masters.
Source: RT in Spanish
A group of researchers from Japanese scientific institutions revealed in a new study, published this Monday in the journal Current Biology, that dogs, like humans, tend to cry when faced with an emotional situation.
“We discovered that dogs shed tears associated with positive emotions”said Takefumi Kikusui of Azabu University, aforementioned by ScienceDaily. Likewise, he indicated that previously his work team was not aware that the animals cried. “in happy situations, such as when meeting their owners”so this finding would be considered “a world first”.
The ‘love hormone’ is the cause of increasing the amount of canine tears
According to Kikusui, the origins of the research go back six years, when he and his colleagues observed that their poodle dog had tears in her eyes while nursing her puppies. The scientist raised “the idea that oxytocin”, known as the ‘love hormone’could be the cause of increasing the amount of tears in the eyes of these animals.
Based on previous observations, the researchers knew that both owners and their dogs release oxytocin during their interactions. Once this information was known, it was decided to carry out an experiment to check if the dogs cried in the presence of their owners and people outside of them.
First, the dogs’ tear volume was measured before and after meeting with their owners, finding that it increased with the familiar person rather than the unfamiliar person. The scientists then added oxytocin to the eyes of the bloodhounds, allowing them to see their tear volume also increase. This result supports the hypothesis that the release of oxytocin is involved in the production of tears in these animals when they are with their masters.
As part of the study, several people were asked to evaluate a series of images of dogs that had artificial tears in their eyes, as well as others in which they were absent, and found that the former had more positive responses. It was also known that the tears of dogs create stronger ties between the dog and its owner.
However, whether dogs cry in negative situations or in the presence of other dogs has yet to be examined. The specialists are confident that they will know if this emotional response has a social function in canine interactions, since they are now sure that this happens in the bonds between dogs and humans.
“Dogs have become partners with humans and we can form bonds”pointed out Kikusui, who concludes that, “in this process, it is possible that dogs that show watery eyes during interaction with the owner are more cared for by the owner.”
