Science Proves Dogs Can Spot Bad People – Does Your Dog Trust You?

Many people want dogs for companionship. They seek a pet to care for, cuddle, play with, and enjoy loyalty and love in return. However, new research suggests that this may not be true for everyone. Scientists have discovered that dogs can actually tell if a person is untrustworthy, and they may not love or trust someone who is not honest.

It’s well-known that dogs are intelligent and can learn from training, but their ability to understand human behavior is even more remarkable. A study conducted by Akiko Takaoka at Kyoto University in Japan explored whether dogs could tell if someone was lying to them.

The study had three parts, and the goal was to understand if dogs could trust a person who was dishonest. To get accurate results, the researchers chose thirty-four dogs to participate in the study, which involved three rounds of experiments.

In the first round, researchers pointed to a container with food inside. The dog, expecting a reward, ran to it. In the second round, researchers pointed to an empty container, tricking the dog into running to it with no food inside. In the third round, the researchers pointed again to the container with food, but because the dog had been tricked earlier, it didn’t believe the researchers this time and didn’t respond.

In the third round, the dogs completely ignored the false cues, showing that they had learned to distrust the person who had lied to them.

All thirty-four dogs in the experiment responded in the same way, proving that dogs can use previous experiences to judge whether a person can be trusted.

Takaoka plans to continue his research, focusing next on wolves since they are closely related to dogs. This experiment has opened up new questions about how much dogs can understand about human behavior, and Takaoka is eager to explore further.

Other research has also shown how dogs react to human behavior. One study tested dogs’ reactions to strangers by having the stranger act rude and then offer the dog a treat. The dogs refused the treats from rude people but accepted them from kind and helpful strangers. This shows that dogs can easily distinguish between nice and rude people based on their actions.

It’s clear that dogs are incredibly intelligent creatures who pick up on subtle human behavior. They can tell when someone is dishonest or rude, and they’ll be more likely to trust kind and honest people. If you want a dog to trust and love you, it’s important to be trustworthy yourself. If you’re not, maybe a different pet would be a better choice.