Dogs Need Dogs for Comfort?

Discovery Channel News: Dogs Needs Dogs for Comfort?

Interesting article I came across. It talks about a study wherein thunder-phobic dogs were exposed to sounds of storms and their stress levels where measured. The study showed dogs in multi-dog households had more stable cortisol (a stress hormone) levels.

What I found interesting is they note that the owners of single dogs attempted to reassure and calm the dogs, yet they still had elevated responses, but there was little contact between the dogs in the multi-dog households. The conclusion stated in the article is that only other dogs could alleviate stress during storms, not humans.

My take on this was a bit different. I think it is another example of dog language and calming signals. Reassuring a frightened dog often has the exact opposite effect than what the owner wants. And, if one has been around dogs enough, they have seen that often the “leader” dog asserts more authority by doing nothing at all, so to speak. In dog language, it seems that inaction speaks volumes. The other dogs take the cue from their leader that the frightening noise is no big deal. I didn’t see a link to the actual study but I think it would be an interesting read to see what other conclusions they came up with.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 21st, 2005 at 7:01 pm and is filed under General Ramblings. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.