Three-quarters of British people and the vast majority of dog owners believe a man’s best friend is adept at understanding our emotions
At least two studies were published recently claiming that dogs understand people better than previously thought. Most people in Britain have an clear response: we could have told you that!
Fully three-quarters (76%) of British adults believe dogs understand human emotions “well”, including nine in ten (90%) of those who have a dog as a pet (as one in four Brits do).
When it comes to their own dogs, dog owners are even more confident in the canine capacity to fathom human feeling. The overwhelming majority, 95%, say their dog understands their emotions “well”, including 45% who say “very well”.
While it may not come as a surprise that people sense emotional understanding in "man’s best friend", the survey begins to put a number on just how close our species have become, at least in Britain.
Research published last year even found that humans and dogs have been evolving together for thousands of years, suggesting a bond – an understanding – growing stronger by the minute (or at least by the millennium).
Image: Getty
