Dogs Actually Tear Up When Their Owners Come Home

Karen Hopkin is a scientist. My name is Karen Hopkin.

It's hard to not smile when you're greeted by a delirious display of canine joy.

A dog is greeting someone.

It is more than the wagging tail that tugs at our heartstrings.

A dog is greeting someone.

A new study shows that dogs tear up when they see their people again. There are findings in the journal.

While watching his poodle interact with her pups, Takefumi Kikusui became interested in the gaze of the dogs.

Her face became cute when she was nursing her puppies. She is so cute every time. There's more.

The professor of veterinary medicine at Azabu University in Japan realized that his dog had tears in her eyes. Kikusui was forced to leave his poodle and return to the lab because of a possible connection between the two things.

The baseline tear volumes were measured when the dogs were in the house.

The owner would high-tail it off for a period of time.

We measure tear volume again when the owner returns. The owner had a reunion with them.

The dog's owner was the one who used it.

When the dogs were separated from their owner and returned to their caretakers, there was no increase in tears.

According to the researchers, the emotional reaction was stimulated by a hormone associated with social bonds. When dogs interact with their owners, they show that the brain chemical oxytocin is increased. It has been found that the glands that produce tears in mice have a high level of the rosin-like substance.

The dogs were put to sleep with the help of a drug.

The dogs started to cry. What do you mean by what end? Is there an advantage to this behavior? Volunteers were shown a few hound head shots.

The other was a normal dog face. The other was a dog with artificial tears.

The volunteers were more likely to care for the mutts with big, wet puppy- dog eyes.

There is a suggestion that teary eyes of dogs can facilitate human caregiving.

Dogs turn on the water works and their owners roll over. That is a really clever trick.

A dog is greeting someone.

Karen Hopkin is the author of Scientific American's 60-second science.

I would like to thank you for listening.

This is a transcript of the show.