Can Dogs Smell Stress?

By: Samiha

Dogs are considered one's best friend. One can play with them, cuddle with them or potentially confide with them? Many don't know the abilities these furry friends possess, more specifically, their noses! According to a study conducted by Clara Wilson of Queen's, UK, and others, dogs actually have the unique ability to smell stress!

In the study that was conducted, researchers had been collecting breath and sweat samples from 36 participants who were then subject to participating in fast-paced arithmetic tasks and physiological measures. These members, who reported an escalation in their stress levels due to the initial tasks were then asked to collect samples again. These samples were then given to various trained dogs to then try and locate the sample of when they were stressed with the sample of them being relaxed still in the line-up. Surprisingly, the dogs were actually able to identify the stressed sample 93.75% of the time.

The conclusion made by this study is that dogs can indeed smell stress, or more specifically the change in Volatile Organic Compounds that are produced due to stress. This honestly tells us a lot in terms of how dogs can assist many of us mentally. This ability dogs have can potentially be of assistance to people with anxiety, PTSD etc.

Source

PLOS. "Dogs can smell when we're stressed, study suggests: Dogs could differentiate breath and sweat samples from people before and after a stress-inducing task." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 September 2022. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220929133419.htm>.