Your data on MRCVSonline
The nature of the services provided by Vision Media means that we might obtain certain information about you.
Please read our Data Protection and Privacy Policy for details.

In addition, (with your consent) some parts of our website may store a 'cookie' in your browser for the purposes of
functionality or performance monitoring.
Click here to manage your settings.
If you would like to forward this story on to a friend, simply fill in the form below and click send.

Your friend's email:
Your email:
Your name:
 
 
Send Cancel

Dogs can copy each other's expressions, study finds
Dogs who knew each other well tended to mimic each other most.
Finding suggests dogs may be capable of empathy

Dogs can mimic each others expressions, a study by the University of Pisa has found.

Published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the results suggest that dogs may be capable of empathy.

The ability to convey emotion is a basic human form of empathy that makes individuals able to experience the emotions of others.

In human and non-human primates, this can be linked to facial mimicry - an automatic and fast response (less than a second) in which individuals mimic others' expressions.

In the study, the researchers filmed interactions between 23 male and 26 female dogs, ranging in age from just three months to six years.

Afterwards, they analysed the video and found that the dogs engaged in two types of mimicry during play - bowing using just their front legs, and opening their mouths in a non-threatening way.

They found that dogs who knew each other well tended to mimic each other most, while those that did not know each other mimicked the least.

"Our results demonstrate the presence of rapid mimicry in dogs, the involvement of mimicry in sharing playful motivation and the social modulation of the phenomenon," the researchers say.  

"All these findings concur in supporting the idea that a possible linkage between rapid mimicry and emotional contagion (a building-block of empathy) exists in dogs."

 

Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history

Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.