Research: Babies reading emotions of dogs better than adults

July 20th, 2009 @ 10:43pm

By Paul Nelson

PROVO -- Researchers at BYU say their new psychological study shows babies can read the emotions of dogs very well, maybe better than you can.

Here's how the experiment went: First, researchers put up two pictures of the same dog.

"On one side, it had a positive or happy expression with [its] ears up and mouth open. On the other side, the ears were pinned back; the mouth was also open bearing teeth," explained Ross Flom, associate professor of physiology and neuroscience at BYU.

Then they played an aggressive bark and a friendly bark and had the subject match the bark with the correct picture. Flom says babies do this better than adults do.

"Infants will tend to look longer at the display that matches what they're hearing," Flom said. "[Adults] tend to treat both the aggressive and non-aggressive bark as aggressive."

How can you tell what babies are thinking? They're not filling out questionnaires or anything.

"They can answer questions based on some of their behavior, by how long they look or where they look and the types of events they prefer to look at," Flom explained.

He says as babies we're born with the ability to read emotions from a broad range of species, but that ability gets weaker as we lose constant contact with those animals.

"Because they're always being exposed to humans and human faces and voices, that takes precedent," he explained.

Out of all the things to study in the world, why study the connection between babies and dogs?

"Canines and humans have such a long history of coexisting," Flom said.

Flom says younger babies can also recognize emotions in humans speaking in other languages. However, as they lose contact with people speaking other languages, that type of emotion recognition is also lost.

E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com

July 20th well my little pink promise, i went home at lunch time today and found you to have green snots and sniffles from your little nose, you were playing perfect, you are eating and drinking, peeing and pooping perfect, just green snotty snots, so i called dr. b and she is preparing an antibiotic for you and mom will pick it up after work, you seem to be fine other than your green snots....you were playing tug of war with sol or should i say sol was dragging you around the house with the rope tug it was so cute, i need to be on top of you with a camera to capture these shots...love you...xxxooo(i think your diagnosis is kiss hug and love overdose!!!)

July 21st Tuesday July 21st, last night you had to sleep in the bed... you were so snotty and had a little fever, i called steve he said you would be okay this morning after 2 doses of your antibiotic you are less snotty and no fever, i think you are adjusting to the nj climate it has been really humid since you came to nj, i know that you are not too sick you were being pulled by sol, you are so strong you hold on for dear life with the toy rope and sol pulls you... you are so damm cute. i LOVE you more than life...you have the brightest personality and so full of life even if you are snotty with green snots....you are now going up 3 steps, growing taller and even eating a whole bowl of food....your poops and pees are getting bigger....xxxooomom

July 4th [i]Good morning it is 0643 here in NJ and I am so excited this is how I count the day I am going to get my familydobes puppy i do not count today it is here already, so it is Sun, Mon, Tues 3 days...and Wed is the day i get her....now i have a great surprise to tell steve the puppy needs to be at the airport at 5:15AM as per continential.... the spokes person telephone consultation was amazing with the instructions all i kept saying was thank goodness steve knows what he is doing....so my puppy will arrive in newark nj at 2:34pm, i find myself having a case of eye trouble and not seeing myself being able to concentrate that day at work....for now i must go train my sol and enjoy the 4th of july....happy birthday america.....okay it is the afternoon of july 4th and i am so excited to have my pink promise...i have rearranged my crate situation, and i have installed my 3rd crate into my truck(it was a project and a few blonde moments,,,as i was so frustrated that it would not fit, Sol is in the yard barking his head off at me, as if he knew i was doing it wrong..Sol is off lead and at my side as long as society lets him and when i am upset, anxious or just plain crabby he senses my every emotion, i just imagine how my pink promise will be....gosh i love those familydobes...on monday i am making the appointment for my vet to check her out and get clearance for the ear cropping procedure...which reminds me i interviewed and studied a lot of vets who do this ear cropping sort of reminds me of my days of interviewing the plastic surgeron....so now i am ready for my arrival and i did not want my neighbors to know all about my doberman life i would be making welcome home signs for my pink promise....

July 6th It is July 6th and only 2 more days until my pink promise comes to NJ, it is now to the point that I can sleep and I am so excited to meet her, I can only imagine what type of personality she will have....I am ready for her...I want her here now...maybe she could fly tomorrow??? I was reading a Royal Cannine book on puppy imprinting and I am looking foward to all of this....“ God turns the ordinary into the extraordinary... ”

~Erwin Tippel

Now why are you not awake... i keep checking on the web cam and you are sleeping....pink promise i can not wait to see you....okay miss sierra tango i have now made your vet appointment for 7:30pm on monday july 13th..Dr B is looking forward to meeting you and love on you, you will like her she is a nice vet and your brother and sisters love her....i see you were awake and now sleeping...lazy....

July 7th dear pink promise lady... i tried to blog on you this am and this forum would not let me post it so your breeder is going to add it in for me... but for now i know that you have been to the vets, and had your shots and you weigh 10lbs...i have all of your supplies packed and ready to go to come get you and your aunt anneliese is coming with me to get you....i am so excited it is in 18 hours and i am so looking forward to meeting you and smelling your sweet little puppy breath, and clean you all up if you are so nervous and had an accident.... see you soon....

July 8th GOOD MORNING MY PUUPY IT IS YOUR DAY TO COME TO NJ.....I AM SO EXCITED I HAVE MY TRUCK PACKED WITH YOUR TREASURES...TOWEL, LEASH, SHAMPOO, WASH BASIN, PAPER TOWELS, WATER, COLLAR, GARBAGE BAGS, FOOD.....I CAN NOT WAIT TO MEET YOU....IT WILL BE IN 8 HOURS...THE AIRLINE BETTER MAKE YOU A PRIORITY AND TAKE YOU OFF BEFORE ANY LUGGAGE OR HUMANS.....THIS IS SO EXCITING, YOU WILL SLEEP IN A SMALL CRATE NEXT TO MY BED AND SOL WILL BE IN MY BED KEEPING AN EYE ON YOU....WHAT ELSE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR NEW LIFE IN BELVIDERE, NJ... YOU HAVE A FENCED IN 6FOOT YARD, 2 SISTERS AND SOL....HE HAS YOUR PERSONALIT I BET HE IS ALSO A FAMOUS FAMILYDOBE....LOVE TO YOU AND ALL OF THE OTHER DOBERMANS AND THEIR OWNERS IN THE WORLD....
 I just watched you being taken from your litter mates, how exciting is this... see you soon....I just confirmed with Aunt Anneliese that we are meeting at her house to come get you at 2:34pm xxxoooo
well sierra we are home safe and sound...hope that you feel comfortable as i write this you are nestled in your crate... this is going to be short because i am so sleepy and your Familydobe friend Sol has training at 0615 in the am we have to leave at 0430 am for the training, i have lots of video tapes of your arrival, i wonder how your litter mate made out in travels... i am so proud of you your kennel was dry.. you went out side to pee pee, came home and fit right in with the 3 other dobermans in the house and have ate and went poopies outside..and most importantly i am in LOVE with you already... i am so blessed to have a familydobe puppy so much...that i wish i had 101 dobermans

July 14th at 12:18pm I can not believe it has been one week since you have been home, you are an angel...i can not tell you how lucky i am to have you...you got home from the airport last wednesday july 8th and to my suprise you were dry no accidents, you made pee pee's in newark, nj and then at aunt anneliese's house..home we went where you met Sol, Kayla and Xena all of these doberman's were so happy to see you... then for the next four days you traveled to warwick,NY in your carrier(you had to stay in the Yukon and have no exposure to any other dogs or people, but it is interesting you are 6 weeks 4 days old at your first trial it was the Tri State Doberman Club Trials...maybe that is a sign of how your next 7 years are going to be. Now on Sunday your mom fell down a hill and did some serious damage to my left leg, i got crutches, knee embolizer and an ankle cast...amazing enough I was going to the truck to check on you my little pink promise...never made it there, but there were lots of people willing to take you and help with you...i said no way i am so very protective of you, i was so sure to give feeding and bathroom instuctions about you while i was in the ER, for example the pink promise can not go to the bathroom around or near where other dogs go, and no one can feed you like i feed you...i let you eat out of my hand, yes you are spoiled rotten. gosh i was so happy to get you back in my sight,. so we made it home on sunday night, you are amazing you decided to sleep through the night since sunday night. you are pulling at the comforter, digging up the kitchen floor mat and hauling around remote controls...great work!!! your accident in the house was MY fault i did not respond to your bark shame on me... you have now made it to be alongside Kayla and Xena in the crates, because Sol does not want you in the bed he is very angry with you there, and nothing for nothing he was here first....this week on Thursday you are going to go for your check up, i ordered your akc paper work from your father/breeder steve so you can get your udc scorebook and this afternoon i am researching dates for you to get in your first confirmation show ring and your PTT...i will have every letter behind your name before long.. thanks for being part of my life Sierra.... i will write more soon...
 

July 15th well well miss pink promise today you actually went up 2 full steps and have learned to follow your big sisters and sol....can you believe you are even in the bigger crate...you are growing way too fast, but you still smell like a puppy and you are so sweet....you are eating lots, drinking out of the big bucket and even making bigger poops and pees.....you are sleeping almost 6 hours straight through at night time....mommy is learning how to "stack" you and getting your UDC scorebook....i just love you to pieces...today i have to work and then take Sol to the trainers...you will be ok, during the day Robert is going take care of you and then at 4pm i am loading you in your little crate for a trip to warwick ny by the time you start training you can drive us there.....xxxoo mom
 

July 16th well well mommy woke up this am before you and i had to check on you...i can not believe you slept from 10pm until 6am your such a big girl...it is amazing NO accidents and you are such a sweetie, the smell of you, and your little heart pounding and your razor sharp teeth are just so amazing....i am home for lunch and can not wait until you are old enough to be social, today at 4pm you are going to the vets i have your poop all packed and ready to be tested xxxooo mom

friday july 17th well you weigh 10.7, the vet said that you are perfect...she asked who your breeder was and mommy gave all the information to her, she will be getting a dobe in no time, you are contagious people love you to death....i have a funny story for you to remember mom has carried you in the airline carrier each and everyday... everywhere like an infant and on the way into the vets you must have gained so much weight that the bottom of the carrier fell out, you were fine, i had a heart attack and now suffer from ptsd of fear of you flopping onto the ground...well you are doing well and now it is time for mom to make the ear cropping appointment...(pleae anyone against it... let's talk about this people have plastic surgery to look good and my dobe is a hot redhead and she wants to look even better so i am getting the ears cropped)... i made an appointment with a nice man who does the laser cropping, i have checked out all of his creditials and references, he is the man, you are going on august 4th which is a great day it is my grandmother Nanny's birthday God bless her, she was a great mentor in my life, and would laugh at me as a teenager all the girls had pictures of wedding dresses and houses, i had doberman's.....i am now living my dream and pink promise you are a part of my dream...you are now going up the steps, hopping and doing great chasing after me in my white robe in the morning, you are even barking and surprising yourself....no accidents and even last night you slept in a 700 crate alongside the bed, Sol is NOT happy with you in the bed, he is a typical male and NOT sharing AT ALL... i try to reassure each and everyone of you(dobes that is) there is enough of my love for both of you....in the morning you are going to go to the Schutzhund club with us and stay in the car while Sol and do tracking...soon you will be doing this also...love you pink promise .....

July 20th monday morning here.. pink promise you are going to get me fired from work, all i can do is think about you and the dobermans in my life and the ones that i want to add to my loving collection of all of you...maybe i can start a doberman support group for those who are addicted. this weekend you seemed to be really growing and adjusting to life here in NJ, we got new toys this weekend, a tire rope, and some ropes for you to chew on... (it is amazing all new puppy toys and do you play with, an empty water bottle...)your teeth are razor sharp... i started to think that you would be carried like a baby in my arms for the rest of your life. this weekend you have made it clear that you do not want to be carried, you grunt and snort to get down....now you run around the yard like you own it....you have now discovered that you are too big to fit through the back stairs... you are climbing 2 steps at a time...growing and growing...this week i am going to research the best dog food for you, i learned that the food i have been feeding you has changed ingredients..i want what is best for you....
 

07/03/2009 Introduction....
Well here I am staring daily at the www.familydobes web site, actually more than daily, every free minute. Let me begin with my connection to www.familydobes.com, I was 39 years old and for a year prior to my 40th birthday my fiancé stated I could have anything i wanted for my 40th birthday, i.e. a cruise, at one point he even suggested 2 elephants and a camel....my passion for Dobermans has been since i was a young girl and i always had a dream to own a "real" Doberman and not a white picket fence what I wanted was to have a working dog you know one of those mean...tough dogs that are loveable behind closed doors, so with much undercover research for about 6 months i surfed the web to the point I erased the history....after all he know all I wanted was Doberman...he had just gotten me 2 Doberman puppies from another kennel on April 6th, how could I now asked for this trained adult working Doberman, so one night over the nice dinner I made him, I say i have decided i what i want and it is so simple...and i showed him Sol from Familydobes...in 2 days i was on a plane meeting the owner of FamilyDobes...Steve and truly his family of 4 children and his wife....all of who I fell in love with, i guess i could not ask to take a dog and the 4 children....lol i immediately bonded with Sol and he and I worked great together Steve was so kind and patient....even when he was teaching me my handling techniques and i did not know my left from my right....so i fly home with this wonderful 40th birthday gift, Sol fits in with my other dogs and my fiancé... it is now 5/16/09....i see the a litter of puppies born and say this Sol is so awesome I want and need to have another Family Dobe... once again I secretly research and keep the puppy cam minimized on my computer screen even at work....at this point i have arranged to meet with a trainer and join my local Doberman club who all of the members are super impressed with my Sol and can not believe how much drive and bonding he has with me...in such a short amount of time...Sol has come into my home since 5/16/9 and it has been nothing but pure paradise...I sleep sound each and every night....to be continued with my desire for my next FamilyDobe....

On May 24, 2009 I see that Ruby the greatest female dobe in the family dobe kennel is having her puppies i think to myself am i nuts but i really want one of her puppies (this mom Ruby) jumped in my rental car when i there visiting Steve and bringing Sol home...she was so sweet and loveable to me and Steve's family but also a great protector over the children... i thought to myself i need to have one of those puppies...but really secretly kept this insane thought in my head... so on June 18th i make the offer to take the pink collared female to NJ, and then on June21st (the actual day of my 40th birthday i wake up and see my name typed into the Family Dobes Selma reservation tab! I could not even eat (did i mention since getting my Sol i have lost 12.8 lbs) and now this pink promise is what i have decided to refer to as with my conversations with Steve. it is my pink (for the collar) and promise (to the puppy, he, my fiancé and myself that she will get the best care and training that i have to offer her, and i promise to make it...in this doberman world....so now it is a couple of weeks until she comes to NJ, how do i tell family and friends i am up to four dobermans and will be training 2 of them...less is best...if you are not a Doberman/Schutzhund lover you would not understand....now i have ordered another crate for home and my Yukon (i bet the UPS man thinks i have lost my mind)...did i mention that i have a 17 year old son who is so happy that i have all these Dobermans because he is an only child so you can imagine where all my attention has been for 17 years.....so now that i know that the pink promise is my dog...i watch every minute the puppy web cam...what a great invention. and on June 30th i send Steve an emergency text message....OMG where is the pink promise? he writes back look closely she is sleeping near the blue collared puppy.....as i am writing this blog i see that Steve just fed the puppies....what a miracle the web cam is....On July 8th is the arrival date for my pink promise which i have decided will not sound so "professional' at the trials...is going to be call Sierra Tango...the date i am going to take off 4 days of work to be with my puppy can not come soon enough....i am SO SO SO excited... i am so ready to just smell her puppy breath... in the mean time my Sol and i are training 2x daily and 2x week with a professional trainer and today at the trial field i heard a Tri-State Doberman Club member say "you should be so proud of that Doberman, he has the best bite I have ever seen." and my trainer...world famous trainer John Soares has been complementing on Sol's bite work and believes we will be famous...stay tuned....I love my Dobermans