Dogs Can Sense Untrustworthy People, and Science Backs It Up

A groundbreaking study reveals that dogs can detect when a person is unreliable. Researchers in Japan found that dogs quickly learn from human behavior and adjust their trust accordingly. If you lie to your dog, don’t be surprised if they stop believing you!

Dogs Can Sense Untrustworthy People, and Science Backs It Up

Dogs are known for their loyalty, but did you know they’re also excellent judges of character? Studies suggest that our four-legged companions can detect when a person is untrustworthy.

Researchers from Kyoto University, led by Akiko Takaoka, conducted a fascinating experiment that tested whether dogs could identify deception. The study was based on the well-known fact that dogs follow a human’s pointing gesture to locate food.

In the first phase of the experiment, a researcher pointed at a container filled with hidden food, and the dogs eagerly ran towards it. Next, the same person pointed at an empty container. The dogs, expecting food, ran toward it but found nothing. Finally, when the researcher pointed at a container with food again, something remarkable happened—the dogs refused to follow the gesture.

Out of the 34 dogs tested, every single one ignored the person’s cue the third time. This suggests that dogs quickly assess a person’s reliability and adjust their behavior based on past experiences. In other words, if you deceive your dog, they may stop trusting you altogether.

“Dogs have more sophisticated social intelligence than we previously thought,” Takaoka explained. She noted that dogs were surprisingly fast in “devaluing the reliability of a human.” John Bradshaw from the University of Bristol, who wasn’t involved in the study, added that dogs prefer consistency. When people act unpredictably, it can make dogs anxious and stressed.

To further explore this phenomenon, researchers plan to conduct a similar study with wolves. Since wolves and dogs share a common ancestor, the experiment could offer deeper insights into how domestication has shaped dogs’ ability to read human behavior.

So, next time you think about tricking your pup, remember—they’re paying attention. And once you lose their trust, you might not get it back so easily!