Your Mood Can Also Affect Your Dog
As all dog-lovers know, your canine companions are extremely empathetic creatures, and often their mood might be a mirror image of yours. Research shows that dogs can read facial expressions and can register if their humans are happy, sad or angry. Here are five ways that dogs can pick up on your mood.
Your Facial Expressions
Our pooch pals treat us like one of the pack, and so have a tendency to be attuned to our facial expressions. Our dogs track our every mood, and as 90% of what we communicate to our canine companions is non-verbal, it is natural that they pick up on our facial expressions. If we smile, they wag their tail, and if we frown, they know something isn’t right in their human’s world. Studies show that much like canines react to other dogs’ facial expressions, dogs can also realise when people are happy, sad, or have neutral faces.
Your Tone Of Voice
Do you ever feel like your dog looks guilty when you tell them off? It’s because they are responding to your tone of voice. It’s not what you say, but how you say it. While a soothing sound should keep your dog calm, your dog will interpret a loud or angry tone in the way it is intended. Try to remember that your tone of voice has an impact and don’t freak out your four-legged friend.
Your Gestures
Studies show that dogs react to gestures like pointing far more than even chimpanzees do. In a test of the two species, a person pointed at a food source just out of reach. Chimpanzees ignored the pointing as important for the task, whereas our canine companions were the first to source the prize. So be mindful that your dogs can interpret your gestures.
How Much You Play With Them
It’s not just your expressions and tone of voice that your dogs are sensitive to, but the amount of time you physically spend with them. If you’re feeling down or stressed, you might spend less time with your pets and isolate yourself. But in actual fact, spending more time with your pets is scientifically proven to make you happier. Making time for your pet is important for both you and your hound’s happiness.
How You Treat Yourself
Like your pet, you also need to exercise, get outdoors and feel good about yourself. Treat your pet how you treat yourself (and vice versa). Like you, your four-legged friend likes to eat their favourite foods, so why not treat them to the finest pet food UK flavours? You and your dog deserve the best. Spending time with your pet doing a combination of your favourite things (hiking, eating, etc.) is the best way to boost you and your pet’s mood.
Keep you, and your pet happy by spending time together and treating yourself to the finer things in life. Stay in tune with you and your pet and remember they are really receptive to your reactions. How you treat your pet should be a reflection of how you treat yourself – well.
