Research says that dogs produce tears when reunited with owners
Dogs are a man's best friend and quite literally so. From being a companion and lifesaver to protector and helper, these furballs go to any extent to shower immense love on their human parents. In fact, recent research in Japan concluded that doggos even produce tears when they reunite with their hoomans! Read on to know all about the emotional side of your dog.
Dogs with their owners versus when they are not
Researchers in Japan tested the volume of tears in 18 dogs when they stayed with their owners at home. They used Schirmer's test that involves placing a special strip of paper in the lower eyelid and observing how far it records moisture. They then compared this with the volume of tears attained when the dogs reunited with their owners after five hours of separation.
Even dogs shed the dramatic "tears of joy"
After carefully comparing the test results, researchers found out that dogs produced more tears when reunited with their owners. Additionally, bubbling in a dog's eyes appears to be linked with the exceeding levels of "bonding hormone" oxytocin. Interestingly but not surprisingly, this increase in tear volume was not observed when dogs reunited with a familiar human instead of their actual owner.
Are puppy eyes real? Let's find out!
In another experiment, researchers presented 74 participants with 10 photos of five dogs, each animal with and without teary eyes. The participants were asked to rate the dogs on a five-point scale, depicting how much they wanted to care for them. The results showcased that teary-eyed dogs got 10-15% more people wanting to pet them. Evidently, teary-eyed dogs trigger emotions in humans too.
Other gestures that make a human-dog relationship so loved
Through this research, experts also found out how a simple eye contact between a human and a dog can get them to care for the latter. Further, they also got convinced that over the course of time, dogs have learnt the ability to raise their inner eyebrows, almost urging humans to nurture them. And, we humans can't resist them, can we?
Dogs might also 'see' with their snouts
Separately, a study published in July 2022 revealed that vision and smell in dogs are connected. The MRI scans of 23 dogs were ascertained, exhibiting neurological connections between the olfactory bulb (where smell is recognized) and occipital love (where vision is processed). Notably, people who take their blind dogs to ophthalmologists say they behave normally and don't bump into things.
