Is there a more joyful, innocent, exuberant feeling in the world than puppy love? It's an emotion that has no strings or reservations, and since a dog's love is most often unconditional, it's aptly named as well.

When a dog licks your face, jumps into your lap, or barks like a banshee when you come through the front door, it simply means they're crazy about you.

But did you know that your dog's heartbeat actually soars when you tell them, "I love you?"

Well, according to a recent study conducted by the folks at Canine Cottages, that well may be the case.

After equipping a quartet of test pups with heart rate monitors, the dogs were guided through a series of scenarios over the course of seven days to see how they'd react to a variety of stimuli.

The tracking data revealed the four dogs averaged a resting heart rate of 67 beats per minute.

When owners said, "I love you" to their pets, the doggos' heart rates shot to 98 beats per minute—a 46.2% increase.

While your dog perks up to the tune of a 10.4% heart-rate jump just for setting eyes on you, some activities actually had a calming effect on the pooches.

Quality couch time cuddling resulted in a 22.7% decrease in canine heart rates.

While it's certainly not the most scientifically exhaustive study ever conducted and the conclusions drawn are possibly a bit shaggy, who are we to argue about the bond between "hoomans" and their hounds? Love is, after all, a four-legged word, isn't it?

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