Does your dog see the dog-food bowl as half empty? A new study finds that some dogs tend to look on the bright side of life, while others may have more pessimistic view of things.

The study, published in the new edition of the journal Current Biology, looked at the behavior of 24 dogs in two shelters. Dogs with a “bowl half empty” outlook tended to have more separation anxiety issues when left alone than their more chipper counterparts.

You can learn more about how the researchers differentiated between the optimists and the pessimists by reading the research paper, or checking out this article in The Money Times. Suffice it to say that a key canine motivator — food — was central to the study. Granted, the study looked at a small number of dogs, but the research was well done, and the effects were noteworthy.

The research concludes that dogs who express serious separation anxiety might benefit from getting some help to shed their inner Eeyore. Most of you reading this already know that dogs with bad separation anxiety could use a helping paw. But it’s always fun to see how researchers test their hypotheses.

(Flickr photo: Aquarius Entertainment)