Cats or dogs? This topic can be argued forever. However, one fact about dogs has become known that may influence your decision. Have you ever wondered if   your dog trusts you?

A recent study  showed that dogs know how to determine the reliability of a person. It turns out that dogs can warn us about who we should be more careful with.

The research was conducted by scientist  Akiko Takaoka from Kyoto University . He and his colleagues wanted to find out whether a dog would believe a person who  clearly lies to it . The experiment was conducted in 3 stages to understand how quickly an animal can determine that an unreliable person is in front of it.

The group of scientists  claims that this study is very important for the further study of dog behavior. It shows us that dogs are much  more willing to interact with honest people , adds John Bradshaw from the University of Bristol.

During the experiment, the dog’s owner first  pointed  to a container with food. The animal ran up to him. Then the person pointed to the empty container. The dog believed  and followed the gesture.

It was already  known that dogs are interested in objects pointed to by the owner. In other words,  they correctly interpret human gestures . But it turned out that if the gestures are inconsistent, the dog becomes nervous and  tense .

Not a single animal approached the farthest, empty container. The next time they did not believe the deception.  34 dogs participated in the experiment, and all of them showed the same results, reports  the journal Animal Cognition . Dogs use their previous experiences to determine whether a person should be trusted.

Takaoka plans to conduct a similar experiment with wolves, the closest relatives of dogs. Meanwhile, the current study found that dogs are curious about new things, but quickly draw conclusions about whether they should continue to trust a human.

Advanced studies  have shown that  dogs also understand the relationships of their owners with other people . In an experiment, dog owners asked strangers for help. After that, people were offered to treat the dog. The behavior of the animals surprised everyone.

Pets refused treats from the hands of those who behaved rudely with their owners.  They preferred to be treated by those who helped. Dogs were less willing, but still took treats from people who ignored requests. However, the rude and aggressive participants of the experiment were never able to gain trust.

Another  independent study  showed similar results: dogs are excellent at reading social norms. They avoided people who treated their owners badly in the same way.

It was previously proven that dogs  read  our gestures and facial expressions. Now we know even more about these animals. They can  decipher  our gestures to understand whether to follow our cues. However, studies show that dogs mainly live in the present, “thinking” about the past or the future only in non-standard situations.

But if you often deceive the dog, it will not trust you and obey you. And if the dog doesn’t like your friends, maybe there’s something wrong with your friendship?