Dogs can distinguish between fearful and angry or sad human faces, brain scans suggest

What it is about

Who published it, and when

How it spread - 23 original reports

1. Mon, 10 August 2026

   2 reports
   • El País (Spain)15:00first to report
     Tu perro sabe cuándo estás triste y cuándo tienes miedo: así es como su cerebro distingue nuestras emociones

     Aunque se sabía que identificaban estados completamente opuestos, como la alegría y enfado, una investigación encuentra la primera evidencia de que también son capaces de diferenciar entre dos expresiones faciales humanas negativas

   • The Guardian World15:00
     Dogs can distinguish between fearful and angry or sad human faces, brain scans suggest

     Researchers analysed activity in regions of brain when dogs were shown images of different facial expressions While dogs are known to turn the puppy eyes on their owners , it seems our pets are keeping a close eye on us too: research has revealed dog brains can distinguish different types of unhappy human faces. Dr Laura Cuaya, a co-author of the study from the University of Vienna, said previous behavioural studies had shown dogs could tell apart some human facial expressions, but such studies...

2. Tue, 11 August 2026

   4 reports
   • independent.co.uk06:07
     Your dog can spot when you are happy or scared, scientists find

     Brain scans revealed dogs can interpret different facial expressions

   • Channel News Asia11:07
     Dogs can distinguish between emotions in a human face, study shows

     URL changednow www.channelnewsasia.com/world/dogs-distinguish-emotions-human-face-6312091

   • timeslive.co.za14:26
     Dogs can distinguish between emotions in a human face, study shows

     A peek inside dogs’ brains revealed man’s best friend can distinguish emotions in people’s faces, researchers at the University of Vienna have found

   • RMF24 (Poland)16:46
     Twój pies wie, kiedy jesteś smutny lub zły. Przełomowe odkrycie naukowców z Wiednia

     Twój pies wie, kiedy jesteś smutny lub zły. Przełomowe odkrycie naukowców z Wiednia

3. Wed, 12 August 2026

   2 reports
   • Times of India10:10
     Dog parents were right: Dogs can tell when you're sad, scared or angry

     New research confirms dogs can differentiate human emotions through facial expressions. Their brains process happy faces in a unique reward region, showing emotional significance. Dogs also distinguish between fear, anger, and sadness with distinct brain activity patterns. This ability developed through domestication, aiding their social understanding of humans. Understanding these emotions does not mean dogs experience them identically to people.

   • femalefirst.co.uk16:00
     Dogs can tell the difference between happy and sad human faces

     Mans best friend really may know how you feel, with scientists finding that dogs can distinguish between different emotions shown on human faces.

4. Thu, 13 August 2026

   1 report
   • Index.hr (Croatia)09:20
     Znanstvenici otkrili što se događa u mozgu psa kada vidi naše lice

     VLASNICIMA pasa vjerojatno nije nepoznat osjećaj da njihov ljubimac točno zna kada su dobro raspoloženi, tužni ili zabrinuti.

5. Fri, 14 August 2026

   1 report
   • Index.hr (Croatia)11:03
     Znanstvenici otkrili što se događa u psećem mozgu kad vam vide lice

     NOVO istraživanje pokazuje da pseći mozak različito obrađuje ljudske emocije.

6. Sat, 15 August 2026

   2 reports
   • Vecernji list (Croatia)08:00
     Psi znaju kada ste tužni ili uplašeni: Znanstvenici prvi put otkrili što se događa u njihovom mozgu

     Novo istraživanje pokazalo je da psi ne razlikuju samo sretna i tužna lica – njihov mozak prepoznaje i strah, ljutnju te druge ljudske emocije.

   • Vecernji list (Croatia)16:38
     Psi znaju kad je čovjek sretan ili tužan, mogu to prepoznati i na strancu

     Ovo otkriće sugerira da sretna lica, čak i ona stranaca, imaju pozitivnu vrijednost za pse

7. Thu, 20 August 2026

   1 report
   • Index.hr (Croatia)13:46
     Znanstvenici otkrili kako psi prepoznaju ljudske emocije

     NOVA studija sa Sveučilišta u Beču koristila je MRI skeniranje mozga pasa kako bi pokazala da oni prepoznaju ljudske emocije.

8. Wed, 26 August 2026

   1 report
   • Il Fatto Quotidiano (Italy)13:03
     Il tuo cane ti sta “parlando” con gli occhi (e forse non te ne sei mai accorto). Ecco i risultati sorprendenti degli studi dell’Università di Parma

     Non solo scodinzolii e sopracciglia buffe: sembra che i cani abbiano un altro modo, molto più discreto, per comunicare con noi. A dirlo è una nuova ricerca dell’Università di Parma, secondo cui anche il semplice battito di ciglia potrebbe nascondere un messaggio sociale. Lo riporta il Daily Mail. Gli studiosi hanno mostrato a 35 cani […] L'articolo Il tuo cane ti sta “parlando” con gli occhi (e forse non te ne sei mai accorto). Ecco i risultati sorprendenti degli studi dell’Università di Parma...

9. Sat, 29 August 2026

   1 report
   • torontosun.com10:38
     Dogs can tell when you’re happy, sad or frustrated, study shows
10. Sun, 6 September 2026

    1 report
    • Index.hr (Croatia)14:31
      Sedam znakova da je vaš pas sretan i zadovoljan

      PSI NE POKAZUJU sreću ljudskim osmijehom, već govorom tijela.

11. Tue, 8 September 2026

    1 report
    • bgnes.com09:39
      Dogs can recognise human emotions and even diseases

      Clearly, dogs are very good at understanding us. But how far does this ability extend, and how do they manage to read our emotions – what cues are they picking up on? A dog that has l

12. Wed, 16 September 2026

    1 report
    • Index.hr (Croatia)09:40
      Je li pas svjestan da je pogriješio? Znanstvenici objasnili njegovo ponašanje

      ZNANSTVENE studije pokazuju da izraz lica koji kod pasa često povezujemo s krivnjom nije dokaz srama, već reakcija na ljutnju vlasnika.

13. Thu, 24 September 2026

    1 report
    • ABC (Spain)18:00
      Hablar a los perros moldea su cerebro

      Hablamos a los perros. Les llamamos por su nombre, les pedimos que vayan a por la pelota o que se sienten, les preguntamos si tienen hambre o frío, les decimos lo guapos que son e incluso, más de una vez, los utilizamos de confesores. Los exponemos constantemente a nuestra charla . Y al hacerlo, los hemos transformado de una manera inesperada: hemos modificado su cerebro de una forma nunca vista en ningún otro animal, excepto en nosotros mismos. Neurocientíficos del Departamento de Etología de...

14. Fri, 25 September 2026

    1 report
    • ANSA (Italy)06:25
      I cani imparano a distinguere le parole come gli umani VIDEO

      L'ascolto ripetuto modella il loro cervello

15. Mon, 28 September 2026

    2 reports
    • Wirtualna Polska (Poland)06:50
      Co dzieje się w mózgu psa, gdy do niego mówisz? Przełomowe badanie

      Mózg psa potrafi wyodrębniać poszczególne słowa z ciągłego strumienia ludzkiej mowy, opierając się na układzie spółgłosek. Jak informuje magazyn "Science", ten sam mechanizm stosują ludzie. Odkrycie badaczy z Budapesztu sugeruje, że taki sposób przetwarzania mowy rozwija się dzięki regularnemu kontaktowi z językiem.

    • aol.com12:15
      17 Pets Whose Facial Expressions Say More Than Words

      Laugh along with 17 pets whose facial expressions say more than words, featuring dramatic side-eyes, suspicious glares, and hilarious reactions.

16. Mon, 5 October 2026

    1 report
    • Index.hr (Croatia)09:05
      Mogu li psi osjetiti "zlo" kod ljudi?

      PSI NE OSJEĆAJU "zlo", već koriste izoštrena osjetila za prepoznavanje ljudskih emocija i namjera.