Dog lovers are feeling emotional after learning the subtle way dogs can tell whether you love them or not. An incredibly popular choice of pet, dogs are famous for their close bonds with their owners, not to mention their loyalty and devotion to them.
Dogs process the world very differently to humans – how they see, how they smell, how they hear, how they make sense of their surroundings and more all varies wildly compared to how we do those same things. Their sense of smell is particularly impressive, with Pet MD stating dogs have “about 300 million scent receptors compared with a human’s six million”.
It’s widely believed dogs can “smell” when a human loves them. This is because “they have heightened physical senses and are aware of things we aren’t”, which can impact how they process our feelings towards them.
It’s understood dogs can “sense” a human’s mood because their “senses are so heightened” which allows them to “detect” the physical and emotional “signals” a human is displaying.
In a popular TikTok video, one person shared insight into how this may translate into dogs processing feelings of love from the humans in their lives.
The short clip shows a sweet puppy snuggled up with their owners. Over the top of the footage, the creator added the text: “I found out today that dogs can smell when you love them. They sense the increase in oxytocin – the ‘love hormone’ – in your brain, and it makes them feel happy as well”.
In the comments section, people were keen to share their thoughts. One person said: “Love is literally in the air”.
Another said: “so the last time he saw me he knew I loved him right”.
A third said: “So she knows how much I love her? Oh good”.
Someone else shared: “I lost my sweet boy 6 months ago and knowing he would have known how much I loved him helps heal my heart a little”.
Another commented: “My life got better now I know this”.
And another said: “no cause immediately when I see my dog I get so excited to see her and she immediately gets excited”.
One TikTok user confessed: “I love my dogs more than anything and I’m sure they know it”.
But another said: “they are highly tuned to your sense like body language, heart rate, behavior etc they can’t directly smell it unfortunately”.
And another joked: “I feel like my chihuahua doesn’t smell anything except food”.
Dogs are a serious, long-term commitment that come with a lot of responsibility. They require constant care, exercise, attention and affection.
If you’re thinking about getting a dog, make sure you do your research beforehand as not all breeds are suited for first time or inexperienced owners. Training is often essential, too.
Consider the benefits of adopting or rescuing a puppy or dog from an animal shelter or charity, rather than shopping directly from a breeder.
