Man, er ..Woman’s Best Friend Channels Her Stress -Dave’s Diary

This is one of those stories that’s as interesting as it is meaningless…but INTERESTING none the less!  Man’s best friend is the dog but perhaps woman is a better friend—for the dog! According to a Fox news report a new study shows the bond between man and dog may go so far as to be reflected in their mutual release of stress hormones.

You’ve probably seen those cool agility competitions?  That’s the scene of the test.  University of Nebraska researchers followed 58 people and 58 dogs participating in dog agility competitions, that require dogs to complete an obstacle course as quickly as possible without errors, guided by their handlers. Both dog and handler love the excitement and competition but it is stressful.

Among the handlers, 44 were women and 14 were men. Scientists collected saliva samples from handlers and the dogs before and after the trials and analyzed them for the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol levels in men and their dogs were found to be significantly higher post-competition compared with before the events, while female handlers and their pups showed little to no change in their cortisol levels.

Why? That to me is interesting!  Researchers explain this COULD be because women interact differently with dogs, which COULD affect her own mental state as well as the dogs'.

It's thought the dogs may have picked up odor or behavioral cues from their handlers and then reflected this in their physiological states.    But here’s the kicker, if women interact better with the dog, how come when there’s a fight, it’s the guy who has to go to the doghouse?!? (Fox)