Home Uncategorized Baby’s Best Friend? Study Shows Dogs React to Baby Cries in the Same Way People Do by Melissa HeckscherJune 7, 2017 Search more like this empathydogvideocrybreedingsounddiscomfortcanineproveexposepainspecierisenewborn Advertisement Trending Now Viral & Trending Dad Gets Shamed for Using a Leash with 5-Year-Old Quintuplets News Chrissy Teigen Announces She’s Pregnant Almost 2 Years after Losing Jack Viral & Trending This Guy’s Going Very Viral for Nailing the Amazingly Terrible Things About Summer Viral & Trending Michigan Restaurant Closes Early Due to ‘Rude’ Tourists Mistreating Staff Celeb & Entertainment ‘Virgin River’ Season 5 Has Already Started Filming Advertisement You know that feeling you get when you hear your baby cry — the discomfort, the worry, the need to help? It turns out, dogs feel it, too.A growing body of research is proving what dog owners have known forever: Our pooches feel emotions — and, more specifically, they can feel empathy towards other people’s pain. To prove it, University of New Zealand researchers exposed 75 pet dogs and 74 people to 10 minutes of the following sounds: a baby babbling, a baby crying and radio static. Then, researchers checked their cortisol levels for indicators of stress. Neither human nor dog responded much to the sound of a baby babbling or the radio static. But the sound of the baby crying caused a dramatic rise in cortisol levels in both species. It’s a reaction that lead author Ted Ruffman to describe it as low-level empathy. “Emotional contagion is a primitive form of empathy,” Ruffman told the New York Times. “It is plausible that when breeding dogs, humans would have selected for qualities that facilitated emotional links between dogs and humans.”Want to see some canine empathy in action? Watch the YouTube video below of a boxer stressing over a newborn baby’s cries—a video that has since racked up more than 5 million views!Featured image and video courtesy of ElectricNoodleSoup on YouTubeDo your pets love your babies? Tell us how in the comments below! Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Copy (Opens in new window) Search more like this empathydogvideocrybreedingsounddiscomfortcanineproveexposepainspecierisenewborn Welcome to our Tinybeans family! Be sure to check your email for new activities, recipes and parenting hacks – and to see if you’ve won! Do you have a dog or cat? Select YES below and click submit to start receiving FREE pet ideas and inspiration, news about new pet products, exclusive offers and limited-time promotions. Yes, I have a pet! Submit GET READY FOR SUMMER! Enter to Win a $250 Gift Card! Enter your email and zip code below for a chance to win a Mastercard Gift Card. We’ll pick one winner per month through August 31, 2022 – 5 lucky winners in all! email zip_code campaign_name Enter Now! I agree to the official rules and to receive email communications from Tinybeans. By providing my email address, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience possible. Accepting the use of cookies enables important site functionality including personalization and analytics. Accept Decline Create an account to save this content on Tinybeans Choose how you would like to sign up. Continue with Apple Continue with Facebook Continue with Google or Continue with Email By signing up, you agree to Tinybeans Terms of Service and acknowledge you have read and agreed to our Privacy Policy. Sign in to your Tinybeans account Don’t have any account? Create an account here. Forgot your password? Reset it here. Sign In or Continue with Apple Continue with Facebook Continue with Google Personalized recommendations Tinybeans uses personal information to share useful recommendations and ideas for your family. This may include your previous activity, family profile and your hometown. Tinybeans keeps your data safe and does not sell personal information to any third party. Learn more about your privacy and location choices. Close