Are Dogs Really Smiling at Us?

Pedro_P

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What a good dog!
Credit: Shutterstock
▼ The dog's mouth opens wide, her lips pull up at the corners, and her tongue lolls out. Most would look at this face and see an unmistakable grin. But is that really what's going on here? Do dogs use this expression in the same way as people, to convey their joy, pleasure or contentedness?
In other words, are dogs really smiling at us?
The answer has roots in our 30,000-year history of keeping dogs as domesticated animals. Thanks to that history, humans and dogs have developed a unique bond, which has also made dogs very useful subjects for the study of communication. "Studying dogs is a really unique opportunity to look at social communication between species," said Alex Benjamin, an associate lecturer in psychology, who studies dog cognition at the University of York in the United Kingdom.
Most of this research also reinforces the idea that the communicative bond we share with dogs is unique. For instance, researchers have found that dogs embrace the human gaze and use eye contact in a way that few other animals do.
A study published in the journal Current  Biologytested how wolves and dogs would respond to the impossible task of opening a container to get at some meat they knew was within. The researchers found that while the wolves would simply stalk off when they discovered they couldn't open it, dogs would turn around and give humans a long, inquiring gaze — suggesting that these animals knew a person could help them complete the task.
Another study, published in the journal Science, found that both dogs and humans experience an increase in levels of oxytocin — a hormone that plays a role in social bonding — when they lock eyes with one another. Even more intriguing, dogs that sniffed oxytocin would then spend more time staring at humans.
"[A shared gaze] is the fundamental mechanism for cooperation if you think about it," especially if, like dogs, you can't rely on spoken language, Benjamin told Live Science. Humans may have bred this trait into dogs over the course of their domestication, she said. "Dogs that look at us are much easier to cooperate with and train. So, it is possible that some unconscious or conscious selection may also have led to the behaviors we see today."
In any case, it's clear that eye contact is important to dogs as a way to intentionally gather information and communicate.
But what about the expressions that cross their faces? (▪ ▪ ▪)

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gori100

That's interesting!

warlikeprince

I think the animal like dog lot much brainy than we think. They are always learning from Humans surrounding them. Like when they are happy and when sad. They can also copy expression and be react accordingly in situations. They smartest friends of mankind...