Not paying enough attention to your pup could land you in the doghouse.
Man’s best friend appears to express jealousy, especially if they see that their owner is playing with another pooch, according to a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego asked the owners of 36 small dogs to dote on an animated stuffed dog, shower a plastic jack-o’-lantern bucket with attention and read a children’s book aloud, all while ignoring their pet.
More than three-quarters of the canines pushed or touched their owners or the object when it appeared that their human was praising another dog. Some even snapped at the faux pup, the study said.
Overall, the dogs appeared less jealous of the jack-o’-lantern, but 40% still tried to get between their owner and the plastic pumpkin pail. Just one jealous pooch snapped at the jack-o’-lantern.
The test was adapted from one used to see if human infants demonstrated jealous behaviors.
The findings support the “idea that jealousy may have some primordial form,” according to the study.
“Many people have assumed that jealousy is a social construction of human beings — or that it’s an emotion specifically tied to sexual and romantic relationships,” psychologist and study author Christine Harris said in a statement. “Our results challenge these ideas, showing that animals besides ourselves display strong distress whenever a rival usurps a loved one’s affection.
