The saying "like a boss like a dog" has now received scientific confirmation. Austrian researchers claim that dogs imitate the anxiety and negativity of their owners, the BBC reports.
Also, according to the researchers, relaxed and friendly dogs can transfer their mood to humans, and thus may help their owners cope with stress.
More than 100 dogs and their owners were subjected to various tests, including measurement of heart rate and response to external threats. Saliva samples were also taken to measure the level of cortisol, the so-called. stress hormones.
Dog owners were then rated on five personality traits: neuroticism, extroversion, openness to new experiences, agreeableness and conscientiousness.
The personality of the dogs was also assessed with a questionnaire.
Dr. Iris Šeberl from the University of Vienna explains that both owners and dogs influenced each other's behavior, with the fact that the influence of humans on dogs was far more pronounced.
"Our results fit well with practical experience: owners and dogs are social dyads, and they mutually influence how they cope with stress," Scheberl told the BBC.
She pointed out that dogs are sensitive to the emotional states of their owners and imitate their emotions.
Dogs have lived with humans for more than 30.000 years and previous research has shown that they are able to receive emotional information from humans and adjust their behavior towards them.
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