KORN KURATED RESEARCH

A Healing Bond: How Dog-Human Synchrony Enhances Co-Regulation

Research continues to uncover the incredible ways dogs help us regulate our emotions and support trauma recovery. From synchronizing heart rates to mirroring behaviors, these studies show how deeply connected we are to our canine companions in healing.

You all know I am dog crazy. All things dogs. Do you know I used to work at Camp Gone to the Dogs?  I was a paw-dee-worker there, doing bodywork for dogs and their people. Going to a camp for dogs and their people was so much fun. I also make fresh food for my dogs. After all, dogs are people, too! (In a future blog, I will share a recipe for dogs with digestive challenges).

If I were going to change careers, it would involve lots of dogs. I have had numerous dog whisperer advisers help me train my dogs, and I have traveled the world over with my dogs. I loved a recent interview with Jane Goodall (My fashion mentor!). The interviewee asked her about her favorite animal, expecting her to say "Apes;" instead, she said, “My favorite animal is a dog. Dogs have taught me so much. Dogs are so faithful, and dogs give unconditional love, and I don't like to think of a world without dogs."

I love reading research about our relationships with dogs and their emotional intelligence. It's often just science confirming our personal experiences. But I enjoyed these articles and know you will also. They will serve you when you give a talk about integrating canines into treatment programs.

What I like about these research articles is that they look at how dogs help us co-regulate, informing us of the role dogs can play in helping trauma survivors of all ages. I have written extensively about how therapeutic forms of bodywork contribute to somatic empathy—a shared bio-psychoenergetic synchronicity that is healing for trauma clients. In Rhythms of Recovery, I write about my golden retriever, Bodhi, and his work helping a suicide survivor begin to thrive.

The first articles explore dog-human synchrony and heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of autonomic function. The rest of the articles continue with the application of synchrony, exploring how dogs synchronize their movement and behaviors with ours.

Why not share your personal dog synchrony stories? If I get several,  I'll collect and share them in an upcoming newsletter.

To get you started, here's one of my stories with Bodhi: I was working with a severely traumatized client who was sobbing during an emotional breakthrough. Bodhi had been sleeping in his bed in the corner of the office. Upon hearing her cry, he got up and went over to the chair where she had placed her coat, dragged it with his teeth, and laid it on her lap as if to say, “Bundle up; I feel you.”

You will enjoy reading this research as much as I did, and as always, I love hearing from you.

Tags: Human-animal relationships, mental health, HRV, dogs, behavioral synchronization, animal-assisted therapy

Interested in Learning More?

• Course(s): Mental Health Disorders
• Course(s): PTSD, Complex Trauma, and Traumatic Brain Injury
• Course(s): Improve Your Mood with the Brainbow Blueprint® for Mental Health
• Book(s): Rhythms of Recovery
• Book(s): The Brainbow Blueprint

Referenced Research Publications

Scientific reports
2024, October 24
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-76831-x

Behavioral and emotional co-modulation during dog-owner interaction measured by heart rate variability and activity

Abstract

Behavioral and physiological synchrony facilitate emotional closeness in attachment relationships. The aim of this pseudorandomized cross-over study was to investigate the emotional and physiological link, designated as co-modulation, between dogs and their owners. We measured the heart rate variability (HRV) and physical activity of dogs belonging to co-operative breeds (n = 29) and their owners during resting baselines and positive interaction tasks (Stroking, Training, Sniffing, Playing) and collected survey data on owner temperament and dog-owner relationship. Although overall HRV and activity correlated between dogs and their owners across tasks, task-specific analyses showed that HRV of dogs and owners correlated during free behaving (Pre- and Post-Baseline), whereas the activity of dogs and owners correlated during predefined interaction tasks (Stroking and Playing). Dog overall HRV was the only predictive factor for owner overall HRV, while dog height, ownership duration, owner negative affectivity, and dog-owner interaction scale predicted dog overall HRV. Thus, the characteristics of dog, owner, and the relationship modified the HRV responses in dog-owner dyads. The physiology and behavior of dogs belonging to co-operative breeds and their owners were therefore co-modulated, demonstrating physiological and emotional connection comparable to those found in attachment relationships between humans.

Reference

Koskela, A., Törnqvist, H., Somppi, S., Tiira, K., Kykyri, V. L., Hänninen, L., Kujala, J., Nagasawa, M., Kikusui, T., & Kujala, M. V. (2024). Behavioral and emotional co-modulation during dog-owner interaction measured by heart rate variability and activity. Scientific reports, 14(1), 25201. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76831-x

Scientific reports
2017, September 28
DOI: doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-12577-z

Interspecific behavioural synchronization: dogs exhibit locomotor synchrony with humans

Abstract

Behavioural synchronization is widespread among living beings, including humans. Pairs of humans synchronize their behaviour in various situations, such as walking together. Affiliation between dyadic partners is known to promote behavioral synchronization. Surprisingly, however, interspecific synchronization has recived little scientific investigation. Dogs are sensitive to human cues, and share strong affiliative bonds with their owners. We thus investigated whether, when allowed to move freely in an enclosed unfamiliar space, dogs synchronize their behaviour with that of their owners'. We found that dogs visibly synchronized their location with their owner (staying in close proximity and moving to the same area), as well as their activity and temporal changes in activity (moving when their owner moved, standing still when their owner stood still, and gazing in the same direction as their owner). The present study demonstrates that owners act as attractors for their dogs in an indoor space, as mothers do for their children.

Reference

Duranton, C., Bedossa, T., & Gaunet, F. (2017). Interspecific behavioural synchronization: dogs exhibit locomotor synchrony with humans. Scientific reports, 7(1), 12384. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-12577-z

Animal cognition
2021, July 24
DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01454-4

Dog-human behavioral synchronization: family dogs synchronize their behavior with child family members

Abstract

Research on dog social cognition has received widespread attention. However, the vast majority of this research has focused on dogs' relationships and responsiveness towards adult humans. While little research has considered dog-child interactions from a cognitive perspective, how dogs perceive and socially engage with children is critical to fully understand their interspecific social cognition. In several recent studies, dogs have been shown to exhibit behavioral synchrony, often associated with increased affiliation and social responsiveness, with their adult owners. In the current study, we asked if family dogs would also exhibit behavioral synchrony with child family members. Our findings demonstrated that dogs engaged in all three measured components of behavioral synchrony with their child partner-activity synchrony (p < 0.0001), proximity (p < 0.0001), and orientation (p = 0.0026)-at levels greater than would be expected by chance. The finding that family dogs synchronize their behavior with that of child family members may shed light on how dogs perceive familiar children. Aspects of pet dog responsiveness to human actions previously reported in studies with adult humans appear to generalize to cohabitant children in at least some cases. However, some differences between our study outcomes and those reported in the dog-adult human literature were also observed. Given the prevalence of families with both children and dogs, and the growing popularity of child-focused animal-assisted interventions, knowledge about how dogs respond to the behavior of human children may also help inform and improve safe and successful dog-child interactions.

Reference

Wanser, S. H., MacDonald, M., & Udell, M. A. R. (2021). Dog-human behavioral synchronization: family dogs synchronize their behavior with child family members. Animal cognition, 24(4), 747–752. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01454-4

Animal cognition
2018, March 21
DOI: 10.1007/s10071-017-1155-x

Pet dogs synchronize their walking pace with that of their owners in open outdoor areas

Abstract

Affiliation between interacting partners is associated with a high level of behavioural synchronization in many species. Pet dogs are known to share strong affiliative bonds with their owners and to synchronize their behaviour with them when moving freely indoors. Surprisingly, outdoor dog-human interspecific synchronization has seldom been investigated. We therefore explored whether, when allowed to move freely in a familiar outdoor space, dogs synchronize their behaviour with their owners' movements. We found that dogs visibly synchronized both their location (staying in close proximity) and their activity (moving when their owner moved, and at the same pace, and standing still when their owner stood still) with those of their owners. By demonstrating that owners act as attractors for their dogs in an outdoor space, the present study contributes new data to the understanding of interspecific behavioural synchronization.

Keywords: Activity synchrony; Dog–human synchronization; Interspecific synchronization; Location synchrony; Pet dogs.

Reference

Duranton, C., Bedossa, T., & Gaunet, F. (2018). Pet dogs synchronize their walking pace with that of their owners in open outdoor areas. Animal cognition, 21(2), 219–226. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-017-1155-x