Any dog owner will tell you that their pooch knows when it's time for a walk, a meal or snuggle. But new research commissioned by Canine Cottages, shows just how much dogs love their owners.
During the study, special heart rate tracking collars were fitted to four different dogs and the change in their heartbeat was tracked when owners interacted with them. Combining the heart rate tracking data from the four dogs over seven days, the researchers found that their average heart rate was 67bpm, The Metro reported.
However, when their owners told their four-legged friends they loved them, their heart rate jumped by a huge 46 percent to 98bpm, which just shows how excited they were to hear their owners' voices.
In comparison, when having cuddles with their owner, the average heart rate decreased by 23 percent from 67bpm to 52bpm, showing how relaxed and comfortable they were when getting affection.
Shannon Keary, campaigns manager at Canine Cottages, commented: "In the UK we are a nation of dog lovers, but although we know how much we love our pets, we've never really known if, or how, our dogs show their affection for us, which is why we conducted this research.”
“It's amazing to see that our dogs' heart rates increase when they are told they are loved, showing excitement, and decreases when having cuddles, showing contentedness. It's also interesting to see all the weird and wonderful ways our pets show their love for us. From this data, we can now officially say that our dogs really do love us."
Canine Cottages also tracked the owners' heart rates to see how much this compares with that of their pet, and discovered their heart rate increased by 10 percent on average when they saw their dog after being away from them for a period of time. So we may not be as excitable as man's best friend, but it's clear that owners really do love their dogs.
