Can you read a dogs face like a you read persons face?

Reading dogs’ faces is very handy. They don’t have language to communicate with so they use physical cues. Are the ears up or back? Are they quinting or are the eyes closed? Where is the tail… all that stuff.

I guess you could call it emotions- in a sense- because they feel something and are showing it. Even if it is just OmgTheMailman’sHere!!!1!

We tend to anthropomorphize canine behavior. It is thought that the appeal of their expressions was adaptive, as it made us more likely to tolerate them around our habitations.

Cats were tolerated because of rodent abatement at the granaries, once we began cultivation and started making beer. Dogs got by on looks.

I agree that we tend to overly anthropomorphize animal behavior, but I don’t think it’s all for naught. I believe animals feel emotions, perhaps rather basic ones, but emotions nonetheless. They did develop open, expressive faces likely as a result of human desire to emotionally connect with their animal companions.

It’s just very obvious to me through the expressions and behavior of the animals I live with that they are capable of expressing some of their emotions. Seeing that humans developed from apes, who do use facial expressions in social contact, it’s not a giant leap for me to think the similarity of human and animal expression is more than coincidence.

@pdworkin Well, actually dogs were used as work animals long before being valued for looks. It was only during the Victorian age when a rising middle class invented the concept of leisure that the dog fancy began breading dogs for mere cutes. (And also in places like the Imperial Court of China.)

I was speaking of a time before we domesticated them, and they just hung around and scavenged. Discovering their utility came later. And by looks, I meant looks in their eyes, (“expressions”) not appearance.

(Hangs head in shame.) I stand corrected.

I can read my dog more by her actions than her face, although when she is happy and content, she squints. I have known a few squinters and it is a very engaging thing. She will also flatten her ears completely against her head while she squints. With ears the size of hers, that is not an easy thing to do. I have known dogs who “smile” or show their teeth in a happy fashion.

I once had a cairn terrier, Agnus was her name, anyhow she was a great smiler and in case you don’t know, even smaller terriers have excellent dentition and huge canines, so it was impressive to see and frightening if you didn’t know her. She was also adept at opening doors. I lived in a house where the bathroom door was very difficult to latch. I had a non doggy friend visit, used the toilet and seemed to be gone an extremely long period of time. I thought perhaps I better check to see she was okay, I approached the toilet, noticed the door was ajar and yelled in “Are you okay?” Turns out Agnus had opened the door and gone in to visit. Plopped herself right down in front of my friend as she sat on the throne and smiled her biggest smile. My friend was afraid to move, eheheheh I love dogs!

So yes, I think they do have facial expressions but to a very limited degree.

There’s a great cartoon called “Expressions of an Irish Setter” in which there several identical pictures of a setter’s face with the labels “happy,” “sad.” “angry,” etc. under them. I Googled it to look for a link but couldn’t find it, but you get the idea.

My cocker had one expression – gormless – but he was very endearing all the same.

gormless is just a lovely word, my dolling.

Holds head back up.

@janbb – I had to look it up, gormless, that is, Apple’s built in dictionary didn’t have it at all, but the online one did. Thank you for helping me learn my vocabulary word for the day!

@rooeytoo Any time. By the way, what time of day is it by you?

@janbb – 8:38 am Friday morning, I really should get in gear, heheheh, but here I am fluthering away. Where approximately are you and I know it probably is still Thursday evening?

@rooeytoo It is approximately 7 pm. Thursday on the east coast of the U.S. Better get swimming if we’re meeting for snacks on the beach in Hawaii on Saturday.

My dogs have emotions and they show them on their faces. So there.

@janbb – yep you better get moving, my Town Dog is disappointed she isn’t coming, but she really has no self control when it comes to flapping feathers!

@Darwin – I agree, you tell these non-believers!

My dogs do too. There’s one with a “bath” face (when he hears the word) that is identical to his “thunder” face. Both are remarkably similar to a human face expressing great anxiety.

My dogs always make a worried face when I’m arguing with my bf.. its really cute, it actually makes us stop arguing.