Brain Scans Show Your Dog Loves You And Food

An fMRI study shows different dogs have different preferences for food and social interaction. Photo: gpointstudio/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. A recent fMRI study investigates individual differences in dogs’ preferences for food and social interaction with their owner. The results have been widely – and erroneously – reported as showing that dogs prefer praise to food. In fact, the results paint a far more interesting picture of how brain activity predicts canine choice. I think most people feel subjectively that their dog loves them. The idea they might not is perplexing. But scientists have this wonderful habit of testing ideas, and a paper by Peter Cook ( Emory University ) et al investigates dogs’ preferences for food and for social interaction with their owner. What if dogs love both? The team of neuroscientists at Gregory Berns’ lab took 15 dogs who