They guide the blind, comfort the sick, smell our disease, detect seizures and even fight crime\u2014what don\u2019t they do? Dogs are basically superheroes, and their special power is empathy. In fact, they\u2019re one of the most empathetic animals around, and we\u2019ve got the scientific facts to prove it.<\/p>\n
They share our yawns and our feelings.<\/strong><\/p>\n Scientists consider contagious yawning a sign of empathy and have even found that humans do it more with the people they care about most. So it\u2019s no surprise that when they studied<\/a><\/span> contagious yawning with dogs, canines yawned more with their owners than strangers and could even tell when their owners were faking it.<\/p>\n They can smell how we feel and feel it too.<\/strong><\/p>\n Everyone knows their dog comes running when they see or hear that someone\u2019s upset, but what about when they smell it? In a study<\/a><\/span> in which dogs were exposed to sweat from humans who had watched something scary, happy or neutral, the dogs actually experienced the emotion by smelling the odor and displayed higher heart rates and a need for reassurance when they sniffed the \u201cscary\u201d sweat.<\/p>\n They want to help everyone.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ever had your dog lay his head in your lap when you\u2019re upset? Cynical researchers used to think dogs were just seeking comfort for themselves until they put it to the test<\/a><\/span>. They had dogs watch their owners and strangers take turns crying. If the dogs were only seeking comfort, they would react by going to their owners no matter who was crying. Instead, the dogs chose to comfort both the owners and the strangers when they cried, indicating that the action really is out of the goodness of dogs\u2019 hearts.<\/p>\n In fact, sometimes they want to help too much.<\/strong><\/p>\n