Dogs are more expressive when you’re looking at them
SIT. STAY. Roll over. Manipulate your master. A new study from the University of Portsmouth in England found that dogs make more facial expressions when a human is looking. Researchers placed dogs of various breeds and ages in a room with a person, who either faced the dog or turned away. Using established systems for identifying facial and behavioral expressions in dogs, the researchers determined that dogs were more demonstrative when the human was facing the dog. Brow-raising — the classic “puppy dog eyes” look — was the most common expression, followed by tongue wagging. Animal expressions are typically considered involuntary displays of emotion, but this study shows that dogs can voluntarily display their emotions to communicate.