If you share your life with a four-legged friend, it won’t come as a surprise that dogs are a lot smarter and more in tune with our emotions than previously thought.

This month our scientists published a paper about ground-breaking ethical research on companion dogs to make the case against experimenting on our best friends.

Here are their 7 fascinating findings about dogs:

• When they hear humans speak dogs can recognise and understand the distinction between different words. So no more excuses from Fido for confusing “Sit!” and “Fetch!”.
• Dogs can also tell the difference between tones of voice and recognise different emotions in speech. Which explains that guilty look on their faces when they’re being told off for sneakily stealing food from your plate.
• Dogs are also able to interpret individual facial expressions. So, after a long day at work, they know you’re just as excited about seeing them as they are to see you. 
• Nobody who shares their life with dogs will be surprised to learn that dogs experience positive emotions. Let’s face it…only a dog could feel such overwhelming joy at chasing a tennis ball.
• But did you also know that dogs can feel empathy and sense sadness or fear? Next time your canine friend comes to cheer you up, you know why.
• According to scientists, dogs also demonstrate genuine human bonding. The companionship and love from a dog isn’t just because you feed them. They really do care. 
• Scientists involved in some of these studies believe a dog’s ability to feel love and attachment means they have the same level of understanding and awareness as a 3-year old human child. We wouldn’t subject our own children to life in a laboratory, so it’s high time we put an end to horrific experiments on dogs once and for all.

This latest research all supports much of what we already knew about our furry friends. Dogs are loving and loyal, and important members of the family.

But every year over 200,000 dogs across the world are forced to suffer in experiments, which include testing chemicals and new drugs for humans. With growing evidence that testing on dogs isn’t an effective way to develop medicine for humans and the growing availability of alternatives, there is no need for this horrific practice to continue.

Find out more about how you can help end cruel experiments on dogs.