Dogs possess a remarkable ability to recognize human emotions by integrating visual and auditory cues—a multisensory skill long thought unique to humans, according to new research. Scientists presented 17 dogs with simultaneous pairs of positive (happy or playful) and negative (angry or aggressive) facial expressions and vocalizations from both humans and dogs, without any prior training. The dogs spent significantly longer gazing at facial expressions that matched the corresponding emotional sounds, demonstrating this cross-species perception.
“Importantly, the dogs in our trials received no prior training or period of familiarization with the images or audio. This suggests dogs have an innate ability to combine emotional signals,” said the lead researcher.
