Differences between an “ideal” detection dog and dogs used by the police

Abstract

Prompted by these studies and by recent evidence showing that the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) has complex cognitive skills in interacting with humans, we: i) discuss the possibility that this species may have developed the capacity to empathize with humans at a level beyond emotional contagion; ii) briefly refer to the available evidence supporting this hypothesis; and iii) outline some routes for further studies to address, in detail, the exact level of emotional and cognitive processing in dogs’ empathy toward humans. Also we call for attentions on dog-assisted interventions as a particularly promising scenario to conduct experimental studies on this topic. As a collection of functional behavioral convergences with humans, the study of dog social cognition may bring important insights to the current understanding of the emergence of complex human social skills. More specifically, the exploration of dogs’ possible empathic tendencies towards humans may turn out to be very useful for increasing knowledge about the development and maintenance of affective bonds and emotional communication between individuals and social groups.