4 cute signs your dog loves to be with you

When your dog is happily running alongside you, chasing you around or loudly barking, you might not even wonder if he's happy, because his body language is a clear sign that he loves being with you. But are we interpreting these metacommunication signals correctly? Do we understand what the dog is trying to tell us? These are the questions we seek to answer below.

When the dogs are having fun, they wag their tails happily and constantly invite their owners to play. This is usually a clear sign that the dog is enjoying being with you. But scientists think it’s not such a simple formula and that dogs have a much more complex emotional world than we think.

These are signs that your dog loves to be with you

Neuroscientists at Emory University have come up with a truly astonishing theory that a dog’s attraction to humans is primarily dependent on food. This hypothesis has been subjected to serious testing. They gathered a selection of dogs and put them in an MRI scanner. This allowed the researchers to monitor how their brain’s reward centre responds to praise and food, as well as facial recognition. Most of the time, when one dog saw its owner, this part of its brain lit up like a Christmas tree. The study showed that dogs tend to choose their owners over their favourite treats, disproving the hypothesis that our pets are only attracted to us for the food. In fact, they concluded that if your dog loves spending time with you, it shows the following signs:

• loud blind chanting
• tail wagging
• almost smiley face
• bounce

Can animals feel emotions?

For a dog to enjoy certain actions, it clearly needs emotions. 17th century French philosopher and scientist René Descartes believed that animals are unconscious, unable to feel pain or fear. He believed that dogs and other animals are in automatic mode and that all their actions are performed without thought. This was surprising, among other things, because in ancient civilisations dogs were believed to be connected to the afterlife and were therefore revered and even regarded as spiritual beings.

Animals are sentient beings

Proof of how old dogs are companions of man is that the Ancient Encyclopedia reports that archaeologists have found domesticated dogs in Turkey from 12 000 BC. In fact, a dog mosaic and other artifacts highlight the hunting dogs and companions of our ancestors, who wore leashes and collars in the Mesopotamian period, more than 5000 years ago! The label of ‘dumb dog’ stuck with dogs until the advent of modern science, when a new school of thought scientist challenged the belief that had been popularised by Descartes. Charles Darwin already believed that the human-animal bond was more special and profound than previously thought. The scientist proved once again that animals are sentient beings.

They can empathise with us

Dogs are very social, which includes the ability to feel and think. However, But new research from the University of Vienna shows that dogs not only understand our emotions, but can also pick up on them. Previous studies have shown that our pets can distinguish between animal and human emotions. They can also decipher how an owner is feeling from their facial expressions.

But New study published in Animal Contagion wanted to investigate whether dogs’ behaviour changed in response to sounds that express emotion, whether animal or human. In the study, 53 dogs listened to negative and positive sounds from their breed mates and humans, such as shouting, whining and laughing, as well as neutral sounds, including rain and crickets chirping. The tests were conducted in two sessions, each with four trials. The results showed that dogs responded differently to emotion-laden sounds as well as neutral sounds. They always moved towards the speaker or looked at their owner when the noise was positive or negative. They could also distinguish between emotions. But the most significant finding was that the dogs easily identified with them and were able to adopt them.

How can a dog enjoy spending time together?

For a dog to live a happy daily life, it is essential that it is properly socialised. Like humans, animals need interaction to feel confident and happy. Dog trainer Victoria Stilwell believes that positive reinforcement techniques are also essential for a dog to feel good about itself. Teaching basic cues and having fun encourages the dog to experience the pleasure it deserves. And when this happens, he has no intention of keeping it a secret, and he will flash all the physical signs of happiness at you.