Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/dogs-love-hearing-i-love-you/

Dogs show their love for their humans by kissing, cuddling, and always greeting them at the door. Whether your dog is a wiggle butt or leaps for joy when you return home, you know you’re loved. Although, dogs cannot say the words “I love you” they apparently love hearing them.

Canine Cottages, vacation rental company in the UK featuring only dog-friendly cottages, conducted a study to find out what really excites our dogs. They used doggy heart rate monitors to measure the dogs’ reactions to three different scenarios.

The study found dogs love hearing their owners say “I love you” and those three little words increased the dogs’ heart rates by 46.2%. They also measured heart rates when owners cuddled with them, which actually relaxed the dogs and decreased their heart rates by 22.7%. The final measure was when the owners returned home which showed an increase of 10.4%.

The results were posted along with ten signs experts say prove your dog loves you. “It’s official – puppers love their hoomans!!”

While the phrase “I love you” is hard for some people to say to another person, it’s so easy to say to our four-legged companions. How many times a day do you tell your dog you love them?

Saying the key phrase in a high-pitched “baby voice” is even better. While most of us already use it when talking to our beloved pets, a study found that dogs listen better and prefer the affectionate tone of voice.

Loving your pup improves your heart health and the heart health of your pup. Being around people and pets you love lowers your blood pressure and makes you more relaxed. As if we needed another reason to love our dogs and cats…

If you’re searching for unconditional love, consider adopting a dog or cat from your local shelter and don’t forget to tell them daily that you love them.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog