Smile and the whole world – or flock – smiles with you

Could acting the goat be the key to happiness for man and beast? Rab explores the theory that adopting a sunny outlook and giving a cheery grin has a positive impact on both our furry friends and us...

Iwas much taken with the university study that found goats preferred humans who were smiling rather than scowling. The researchers at Queen Mary University of London said their findings had important implications for how we interacted with livestock. One peculiar London newspaper, obsessed with blood sports and suchlike, said farmers should try to look happy around their livestock so that their meat would taste better after slaughter.

Thus the human race: smiling while it readies for the kill. But I was happy to read this news about the family Bovidae. I thought of getting a goat once. I didn’t want to milk it or anything, just to pat it on the heid from time to time.

But the moment passed and, now that I’m in suburbia, in the past it must remain.

Must say I was staggered to read there are a billion goats on the planet. You’d think you’d see more of them stoating aboot, but I guess (with no knowledge at all) that most of them live in the Middle East and Africa.

What interested me about the research was that it confirmed what I’d discovered for myself already. Dogs, of course, generally react well to a friendly approach.

There’s a lovely dog called Millie, who lives just up the road from me, and every time I waddle her way she wags her tail like mad and looks really happy. It fair makes my day sometimes.

Even quite aggressive dogs on the Hill can turn soppy if you affect a cheerful grin and contain your knocking knees. I’m pretty sure the birds in the back garden can detect happy or kind humans too. They like a laugh, in my view, and I seem to provide them with plenty as I blunder about making horticultural bloopers.

Music, too, seems to attract wildlife, though death metal not so much. Sometimes, I take my acoustic guitar out the back and attempt Baa Baa Black Sheep, This Little Chick and other classics, which the birds seem to like. Not so much the human neighbours, and the party generally breaks up when the police arrive.

You may have heard of kulning, a form of Scandinavian ululating that attracts cows. It was popularised most recently by Jonna Jinton. One of the cows owned by a nearby farmer fell in love with her – licks her face and everything – so Jonna bought it. Marvellous woman. You can find her on Google and YouTube, where she gets millions of views.

You may also have seen the amazingly heartwarming video where a chap called Christopher Ameruoso plays blues slide guitar that a donkey loves so much it places its head on his shoulder and snuggles into his neck. And, mercy me, doesn’t it just appear that the beastie is smiling.

It just shows there’s more to animals than meets the eyelobe. They can feel joy as well as the fear and bewilderment that seem the usual lot of all creatures dumped on the planet Earth and told to get on with it.

Of course, I’m not suggesting that you walk around the streets and fields looking glaikit. Dignity at all times, folks. But, in the privacy of your own meadow or hill, whenever you get the chance, cheese merrily at the beasts. They seem to like it.

Picture: Getty Images. A study found that goats respond well to humans who smile, not scowl.