Dogs Can Recognize a 'Bad Person' By Facial Expressions, Study Says

© press

Domestic dogs have heightened awareness when it comes to reading human facial expressions and facial expressions, according to new research.

Dogs possess extraordinary perception abilities and are capable of understanding just how trustworthy a person is, a new study suggests.

The research, conducted by Akiko Takaoka of Kyoto University in Japan, studied the dog's ability to understand that a person was not trustworthy was assessed.

© press

In an experiment, the dog owner would request help from a random person for help, in some instants the person approached would be helpful, but other times they would be rude.

After the mix of reactions, the person would attempt to offer the dog a treat.

According to the research, dogs would gladly accept the gift from a person who was kind to their owners.

But when the rude unhelpful person offered them a treat, the dog refused the treat.

The result revealed that dogs have an accurate understanding of human social interactions than previously thought.

According to The Guardian: Scientists have found that the dogs tended to look at the picture that resembled the tone of the voice, picking out the right human facial expression more often than not.

"This cognitive ability has until now only been evidenced in primates and the capacity to do this across species only seen in humans.”
Dr. Kun Guo says.

Researchers in Vienna last year discovered that dogs could tell whether a person was pleased or angry just by staring at their face.

But this study proved that dogs could go past recognizing facial cues to genuine emotional perception.

© press

The study suggests that dogs like things to be 'predictable' according to John Bradshaw of the University of Bristol in the UK.

"Dogs are very sensitive to human, but they have fewer preconceptions," he says.

"They live in the present, they don't reflect on the past in an abstract way, or plan for the future."

It is clear that dogs are not mindlessly listening to their owners when they gesture, the study seems to suggest.

"They evaluate the information we give them based in part on how reliable it is in helping them accomplish their goals. Many family dogs, for instance, will ignore your gesture when you point incorrectly and use their memory to find a hidden treat,” says Brian Hare who is a chief scientific officer at Dognition.