“I’ll be right back,” you tell Sparky heading out for your eight-hour work shift. But beware, Sparky could be on to you.
New research finds dogs know when they are not being told the truth.
A test of 34 dogs at Kyoto University in Japan found they lost trust in owners who lied to them.
First, owners pointed to a hidden box with tasty food inside and instructed the dog to go find it. The dogs happily responded, followed the hand point, and retrieved the food.
Then the owners pointed to a hidden box that had no food in it and the dogs responded, followed the hand point, but were very disappointed to discover there was nothing in the box.
Then the owners pointed to a hidden box and the dogs were uninterested. Didn’t even want to know what was in it, they weren’t going to fall for that trick of the hand point again.
Seems Sparky has a limit to how many times he’s willing to play your little dishonest reindeer games.
Frisco, Texas, professional Animal Communicator Sandra Larson says it’s your energy they’re reading, though it may seem they’re reading your mind.
“If you ever notice you’re thinking about giving them a bath, and they hate baths, and all of a sudden you can’t find them, you can sit there and tell them, ‘You’re not getting a bath,’ and all they’re going to see is they’re getting a bath,” she tells KTRH News. Busted.
Texas A&M Animal Behaviorist Bonnie Beaver says the length of relationship with the animal will be a factor in their ability to read you, as well as your body language.