Canine copycats can mirror other dogs emotions

Dogs can copy each other’s expressions in a split-second just like people, showing signs of basic empathy, according to Italian researchers.

Mimicking each other’s facial expressions is a human habit, which helps people to get along.

Dogs do the same to bond with other dogs, scientists report in the journal, Royal Society Open Science, according to BBC.

They think dogs may be showing a basic built-in form of empathy, enabling them to pick up on emotions.

And the phenomenon may have emerged in our canine companions during the process of domestication, say scientists from the Natural History Museum, University of Pisa.

Split-second mirroring

Until now, the idea – involved in social bonding – has only been described in humans and non-human primates such as chimps and orangutans.

It’s why humans automatically mirror a smile or a laugh, enabling the sharing of emotions.

After analysing 50 hours of video, they found that dogs were able to mimic the facial expressions and movements of other dogs in a split-second.

This “rapid mimicry” is an automatic and involuntary response, rather than the result of training, they say.

Human-dog relationship

Dogs are known to be able to respond to human emotions, such as copying a yawn, suggesting they show some basic aspects of empathy.

This capacity may have evolved in dogs as they were domesticated or could have been present in the wild ancestors of canines.

The Italian researchers plan to study wolves to answer this question and shed more light on the complex relationship between humans and dogs.

H.Z