Study Finds Dogs Have an Emotional Response When Humans Cry

A new study finds that dogs have an emotional response when they see humans cry, and it's actually really sweet.

Research led by Fanni Lehoczki and Paula Pérez Fraga from the Neuroethology of Communication Lab at ELTE Department of Ethology offers a new look at how dogs fit into our lives. Take a look!

This study, published in Animal Behaviour , looked at companion dogs and mini pigs, which are both popular pets people have in their homes, according to Earth.com. And the findings offer an interesting look at how species interact with each other.

Related: Wondering How to Get an Emotional Support Animal? Here's What You Need to Know

To test their theories and learn more about how dogs interact with humans, they focused on how the dogs and pigs responded to humans making noises, specifically crying and humming.

"Now, you might wonder, why these two sounds? Well, our tears, more often than not, signify distress and sadness," Earth.org notes. "On the other hand, humming doesn’t usually signal any particular emotion but is relatively unusual."

The findings showed that dogs react emotionally when they hear the crying sounds in humans.

The study abstract notes that dogs' responses showed "higher levels of behaviors associated with increased arousal and negative emotional states and vocalized more in response to crying compared to humming."

This study's findings are fascinating because dogs "seemed to have been affected by and reacted accordingly to the emotional content of human vocal sounds."

Basically, it seems like dogs react emotionally or empathetically to humans when they're sad.

"Our findings suggest that decoding the emotional content of certain human vocalizations, particularly those lacking a conservative acoustic structure and possibly perceived as less relevant for animals, such as humming, might be challenging for some domestic species," co-first author Paula Pérez Fraga, also from the Neuroethology of Communication Lab at ELTE Department of Ethology, said, according to Phys.org .

How to Bond With Your Dog

The study shows that it's important for people to develop emotional intelligence, and there are a few ways you can help ensure the bond between you and your dog is strong.

According to the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, bonding with your dog can be done in several different ways, including training with them, exercising together, grooming, and playing together--and routine.

"Dogs thrive on consistent schedules. By creating a routine together, they’ll know what to expect from you and when, which only serves to build their trust in you further," the organization shares.

"Additionally, they’ll learn what is expected from them and deliver, and we all know dogs love making their owners proud!" the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals notes.

"Be consistent in your communication with them as well. Stick to cue words they already know to clear up misunderstandings. Our dogs want to know exactly what we want from them."