According to a study published in the scientific journal Current Biology, dogs are indeed capable of understanding humans, but not necessarily the words spoken. The key lies in facial expressions.
The research, whose results were disclosed lately, showed that dogs learn to distinguish human facial expressions of happiness and sadness.
So, it’s a fact that your Shih Tzu can understand how you feel.
To reach this conclusion, a group of dogs was exposed to 15 pairs of images. Some of the dogs were shown only the upper halves of faces, while others were shown only the lower halves.
In the end, it was found that the dogs used their memory of real human faces to compare it with what they were seeing, thus fulfilling the discrimination task.
The researchers also discovered that faces with expressions of joy are much easier for dogs to identify than other emotions. In other words, it’s harder for the animal to distinguish between anger and sadness.
Another question that arises from the results obtained is whether the dogs were correct due to their extensive experience with the emotional expressions of their owners or if it’s a skill acquired during the domestication process.