You’ve probably heard that dogs can smell fear — but what if they could also sniff out lies? Turns out, your pup may be more perceptive than you ever imagined.
A series of new studies reveals that dogs don’t just love unconditionally — they actually pay close attention to human behavior, and they can figure out pretty quickly who’s trustworthy… and who isn’t.
Three-part experiment with 34 dogs
Humans mostly rely on sight to understand the world, but it’s easy to forget that dogs experience life primarily through their sense of smell. This powerful ability gives them a completely different — and often deeper — perspective on their surroundings.
In one clever study out of Kyoto University in Japan, researchers led by Akiko Takaoka set out to test just how smart dogs really are when it comes to human trust. And what they found was jaw-dropping — even for seasoned dog lovers.
They ran a three-part experiment with 34 dogs. First, a person pointed toward a container with hidden food. The dogs happily trotted over and found the treat. In round two, that same person pointed to a container that was empty. The dogs went, but this time came up empty-pawed. By round three, when the human tried to regain their trust by pointing to another food-filled container, the dogs refused to go. Every. Single. One.
They had figured it out: this person had lied to them once before — and they weren’t about to be fooled again.
“Dogs have more sophisticated social intelligence than we thought,” said Takaoka.
“This social intelligence evolved selectively in their long life history with humans.”