As we know, dogs are sensitive and emotional animals, which need a good dose of affection among their main care. The company of your family is irreplaceable and essential to your psychological well-being. Now a recent study shows that these animals they prefer to receive love than food.
This curious theory is demonstrated by a study presented on the Biorxiv platform, which will be published soon in the scientific journal "Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience". This is stated by the magazine "Science", which has disclosed the details of the investigation.
To carry it out, a group of scientists scanned the brain activity of 15 dogs of various breeds, which they exposed to different situations. One of the tests consisted of showing the animals various objects just before giving them a reward, which could be a caress or a piece of sausage. Thirteen of the fifteen dogs showed the same or higher levels of brain activity in the area involved in decision-making and rewards when they were caressed than when they received food.
Another experiment carried out during the study was to place a food bowl in front of the dogs and their owners in another place. Most pets they preferred to walk towards their loved ones in search of affection, instead of staying eating.
The results of this work reveal the importance of social interactions for canine psychology and give rise to an important debate on the possibility that dogs have learned to recognize some human emotions as a consequence of the 15.000 living together with our species.
In addition, experts indicate that brain scanning techniques could be helpful in improve the allocation of canine jobs, based on the preferences of the animal. This could apply, for example, to both therapeutic tasks and rescue missions.