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posted by martyb on Sunday October 22 2017, @11:45PM   Printer-friendly
from the "The-eyes-have-it" dept.

Dogs have pet facial expressions to use on humans, study finds

Dogs really do turn on the puppy eyes when humans look at them, according to researchers studying canine facial expressions. Scientists have discovered that dogs produce more facial movements when a human is paying attention to them – including raising their eyebrows, making their eyes appear bigger – than when they are being ignored or presented with a tasty morsel.

The research pushes back against the belief that animal facial expressions are largely unconscious movements, that reflect internal sentiments, rather than a way to communicate. "Facial expression is often seen as something that is very emotionally driven and is very fixed, and so it isn't something that animals can change depending on their circumstances," said Bridget Waller, professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Portsmouth, and an author of the study.

Also at Popular Science.

Human attention affects facial expressions in domestic dogs (open, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-12781-x) (DX)

Earlier research: Paedomorphic Facial Expressions Give Dogs a Selective Advantage (open, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082686) (DX)

Related: Ethiopian Wolves and Gelada Monkeys Show Signs of Cooperation
Your Dog Remembers More Than You Might Think
STSR Tests Confirm That Dogs Have Self-Awareness


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 22 2017, @11:56PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 22 2017, @11:56PM (#586095)

    That was for some animal news site that had a comparison of dogs and their owner's facial expressions. Many of the dogs DID in fact pick up facial mannerisms of the owner as far as how they smiled or scowled or whatever other expression they were shown with.

    I kind of thought this was common knowledge in regards to domesticated animals, specifically cats and dogs.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by fishybell on Monday October 23 2017, @01:24AM (1 child)

    by fishybell (3156) on Monday October 23 2017, @01:24AM (#586115)

    Common knowledge with no scientific backing is often proven wrong when put under scientific scrutiny.

    Apparently there are multiple "common knowledge" aspects to this case. One was *proven wrong, one was *proven right.

    *As proven as we can get until we have a dog translator [wordpress.com].

    • (Score: 2) by TheLink on Monday October 23 2017, @11:30AM

      by TheLink (332) on Monday October 23 2017, @11:30AM (#586276) Journal
      What I'm curious about is whether the dogs make those facial expressions when dealing with
      1) other dogs.
      2) other animals like cats.
      3) other animals that are a bit more different - birds.