Have you ever wondered if your dog really loves you the way you love them? I think about this all the time, especially when Pharaby hits her buttons to tell me she loves me. It's like the sweetest thing ever, and it got me thinking – I've always assumed that they love us similarly to how we love them but is there actually proof of this?
Science says yes! I stumbled across this fascinating study by a neuroscientist, Gregory Berns, who used MRI scans on dogs (don’t worry, they were trained to do this & happy during it!). He found that when dogs see something they like – like their favorite human – their brains light up in a way that's similar to ours when we’re happy. How cool is that? It’s pretty much saying that dogs really do have feelings, including love.
So judging by this information and the recent study that came out about dogs understanding human words, with the help of AIC buttons, our dogs and cats are not just pressing buttons – they are actually communicating their feelings in a way that we can understand. How incredible is that?
If you’re as intrigued by this as I am, you might want to explore teaching your own dog (or cat!) to communicate using AIC buttons. Trust me, it’s a game-changer. I’ve got a whole AIC Button Teaching Book that can guide you through the process. Plus, I’ve got some AIC Resources on my site that might help you get started, everything is linked below. Oh & if you’re thinking about getting buttons, use my discount code PHARABY for 12% off any order of $50 or more at Fluent Pet. Because who doesn’t love a good deal?
& Code Pharaby also saves you 12% in my digital product shops, no minimum on Etsy or GumRoad 
The study by Dr. Gregory Berns that I referenced was published in 2012. It’s called "Functional MRI in Awake Unrestrained Dogs" and was published in the journal PLoS ONE. You can link directly to the paper through the link below.
This study is the one where Berns used MRI scans to show that dogs experience emotions like humans do. It's a great resource to include for anyone interested in the science behind dog emotions!
