Study finds dogs can 'sniff out' stress in people!

Dogs were rewarded with treats when they picked out the "stressed" scent

Scientists have discovered a new way dogs keep in touch with how we're feeling - they can smell when we're stressed!

They can pick up the scent through smelling our breath and our sweat.

The study is hoped to help with training future therapy dogs - which can help people with mental or physical difficulties.

Out of 700 of the trials, 650 showed that dogs can work out when we're stressed.

Dogs have incredibly powerful sniffing skills!

How did the study work?

Four dogs were volunteered by their owners to take part in the study at Queen's University, in Belfast.

Treo, Fingal, Soot and Winnie all were chosen for the experiment.

Human volunteers then were made to do a tough maths test - and if their blood pressure rose, a sample of their sweat and breath was used for the experiment.

Blood pressure can rise when we're put in stressful situations.

The dogs were told to choose out of three different smells to match the smell of the "stressed" scent - and most of the time they got it right!

What does it mean?

You might have heard of blind dogs, but have you heard of therapy dogs?

Dogs are highly sensitive to smells - they have already been proven to be able to smell diseases on people, including Covid!

However, there has not been much evidence to show dogs can smell the difference between different emotions.

It's hoped that scientists can use the evidence for this study to help train therapy dogs.

For example, if someone has increased stress, a therapy dog could help calm them in a difficult time.

Therapy dogs can be used from anything from anxiety, to people with sensory processing issues.