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Yes, dogs laugh, and they find the sound comforting
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-11 15:48
SPOKANE, Washington (AP) _ An animal behaviorist says she's figured out what
dogs are doing when they make that excited panting noise while playing or
anticipating a much desired walk.
They're laughing.
Patricia Simonet, development and program coordinator for Spokane County
Regional Animal Protection Service, also found that the sound of dog laughter
comforts other dogs. When she played a recording of "play panting" through the
speaker system at a shelter in Spokane Valley, all the barking dogs quieted
within a minute.
"I wanted to see if I could reduce (the dogs') stress by playing the sound in
the shelter," Simonet said. "I was surprised when they were calm and quiet."
Simonet, who will soon complete a doctorate in animal behavior from
Northcentral University in Prescott, Arizona, presented her study on reducing
shelter dogs' stress at the International Conference on Environmental Enrichment
last summer at Columbia University in New York.
About a year ago, Simonet asked Nancy Hill, director of the Spokane County
Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS) if she could use the shelter dogs to
determine the impact of dog sounds.
When SCRAPS closed on Sundays, she would play the tapes for the typically
stressed animals.
Hill said she was pleasantly surprised with the results. "I've been here for
20 years, and this is the most significant thing I've seen," she said.
Hill is getting estimates to install a sound system that would carry the
laughter throughout the SCRAPS kennels. Calming the dogs this way may even make
them more presentable for adoption.
Eventually, Simonet wants to market the dog sound commercially.
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