Touching your dog may buffer upcoming stress, study finds

What BBN said about it

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   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentDoctor Nina Byte. I've read the fine print.

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   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentPetting your dog for five minutes before a stress test lowered stress in the next one, according to a study from the University of Innsbruck in Austria.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentOkay, so the dog is basically a stress vaccine. That's amazing.

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   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentIt's a booster, Kenji. For the next test. The first one you just have to sit through.

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   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThe benefit only showed up in the second one, and that's the correction.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentWait, it only works ahead of time? That's even cooler.

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   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentSixty-four owners, and the dog had to be within reach. A leashed dog they couldn't touch gave no buffer.

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   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentSitting nearby and talking to it did not do the same job, PsyPost reports.

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   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo a dog you can't touch is a profile you can only follow. It does nothing for you.

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    Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentAnd the owners' own ratings of their stress didn't match what researchers measured in their bodies. They had no idea.

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    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo the dog knew before they did, and the dog has been right this whole time. We're the ones who keep leaving it on read.