For many owners, a trip to the vets can be a stressful experience. What if my dog barks at other dogs? What if he pees on something? How much will it cost? But did you know that your stress can also affect your dog? New research from Queens University Belfast has uncovered evidence of a physiological link between owners and their dogs in a veterinary setting.

Two hearts beat as one

The study, which took place out of hours in an unfamiliar veterinary clinic, monitored the heart rates of dogs and their owners during mildly stressful or relaxing interventions. During the research, dog owners were required to sit quietly with their dogs and not interact with them. The results showed that dogs’ heart rate decreased significantly over time, suggesting that they acclimatised to the veterinary setting.

However, interestingly, they also observed that changes in the owners’ heart rate significantly predicted changes in their dogs’. This finding suggests that the dogs were able to ‘sense’ that their owners had become stressed. This nonverbal communication is known as emotional contagion and demonstrates how sensitive dogs are to human emotions.

Emotional contagion

Emotional contagion refers to the ability dogs have to mirror the emotions and behaviours of the people around them. Have you ever seen your dog catch a yawn from you? Through subtle cues, including body language, tone of voice, and even changes in odour, dogs can pick up on how we are feeling, which in turn affects their emotional state and behaviour. This is especially true in uncertain situations, where dogs look to their owners for cues on how to react—known as social referencing.

“Recent research, including our study, has investigated whether dogs exhibit emotional contagion or social referencing towards people, as well as the potential ways in which dogs can detect changes in human stress levels,” Aoife Byrne, the lead investigator from the study explains.

Stress at the vets

The findings of the study suggest that the owners unintentionally signalled to their dog that they were stressed, which their dogs then mirrored. This has important implications in a veterinary setting, where the physiological changes could mask symptoms and make diagnosis more challenging. Previous research has investigated the impact of vet-dog interactions, but this study is the first to explore the impact of their owners’ stress.

“The main implication of our research for veterinary professionals is that it highlights the importance of giving dogs time to acclimatize to the exam room environment before commencing a clinical exam,” explains the researcher. “This should be taken into consideration when practices are booking consults for dogs, especially those who have previously shown signs of fear and stress in the clinic environment.”

Going beyond this, the research also emphasises the need for veterinary professionals to address owner stress. “Owner stress may have the potential to influence the stress of their dogs, so it is vital that veterinary practices also attend to the stress and welfare of their clients,” Aoife explains. By reassuring dog owners, vets could indirectly reduce stress in their animal patients, potentially improving clinical outcomes and resulting in a more positive experience for dogs and their owners.

Advice for dog owners

The study’s findings highlight the importance of preparing dogs for veterinary visits ahead of time. “The main advice I would give to owners is to try to visit your vets with your dog regularly when you don’t need to,” the investigator suggests. “Bring them into the clinic and let them explore, allow the staff to interact with them and give them treats, and do this at a time when you are relaxed and under no pressure.”

By using positive reinforcement, owners should focus on building positive associations between their dog and the veterinary clinic. “I would also recommend that owners always bring rewards (treats/toys) to the vet clinic with them, and practice plenty of positive reinforcement training in the clinic, to help your dog develop a positive association with the clinic.” As well as reducing dogs’ stress, these practices can also reduce owners’ stress levels by removing the uncertainty and building confidence.

Research takeaway

The findings of the study highlight the complex non-verbal communication between owners and their dogs in novel or uncertain contexts. As well as giving dogs time to acclimatise to clinical settings, the results also underscore the importance of reducing owner stress during veterinary visits. Overall, the findings serve as a reminder that the health and wellbeing of dogs and owners are intertwined.

Key study findings:

• Dogs did acclimatise to the veterinary setting
• Changes in the owners’ heart rate significantly predicted changes in their dogs’
• Owners unintentionally signalled to their dog that they were stressed
• Dogs then mirrored this emotional shift