Interesting discovery: Dogs also get jealous like humans

Dogs are considered the closest animals to humans, and these cute pets also have actions that show jealousy if the owner shows interest in playing with other animals or other toys, without paying attention to them.

Illustration photo. (Source: kika.lt)

Dogs are particularly jealous when they think their owners are interested in another dog, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Plos One on July 23.

The interesting study was conducted by scientists at the University of California in San Diego, USA. They randomly selected 36 dogs of different breeds such as Daschshund, Pomeranian, Boston Terrier or Maltese.

Owners were asked to ignore their dogs and perform three tasks in order: play with a toy dog, a plastic pumpkin-shaped bucket, and read a children's story aloud. These were tests for the animals' jealousy.

Scientists analyzed the dogs' behavior according to levels of aggression, attention seeking, and attention to the owner or toy.

The results showed that the majority of dogs (80%) pushed or touched their owners when they played with their stuffed dogs.

To a lesser extent, about 40% of dogs responded when their owners played with a bucket of toys without paying attention to them; while their owners' reading aloud only attracted the attention of 22% of dogs.

The study also found that about 30% of these dogs intervened when their owners were playing with a toy, and 25% bit the stuffed dog. In the other two tests, only one dog bit the bucket and the book.

Not only that, the study found that dogs also seek to break the connection between people and objects they perceive as “enemies.”

Psychologist and member of the research team, Christine Harris, said that animals often show jealousy in all relationships and in all their behaviors such as fighting for food, attracting attention or care.

According to them, jealousy may have developed in dogs when these canine animals were domesticated and had long-term close contact with humans.

This research is based on a previously conducted test of jealousy in six-month-old children./.

According to VNA