Smiley dogs

Clodagh

Clodagh

Playing chess with pigeons
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17 August 2005
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How do dogs learn to smile? My lurcher is so smiley it makes her sneeze, but how do they learn to do it? Surely pulling your lips up is aggressive posture to them, naturally. Do they do it from copying people?
Many people have smiley dogs? I love it!
 
Our spaniels all do it. T when she's really had a lovely time running around with a ball or chasing down knots of wrapping paper - the rest of the time she's the canine version of Eeyore; A when she's had a good gallop about and is generally excited; J when she's been in the sea; and S never stops, he's perpetually got a daft grin on his face!

He and A will often both smile if you laugh at something they're up to and play rough-and-tumble with them. It's so completely different from the lips curled back snarl that I've always tended to assume they have a smile/sense of humour of their own. There's been a recent study done that indicates dogs have at least equal emotional intelligence to a human three year old; this doesn't mean we should anthropomorphise them, but they probably have a great deal more of a range of emotional complexity than we yet appreciate!

P.S: Anyone got any good smiley dog photos to add to this thread?!
 
Ah, fair enough. Our lab doesn't smile at us but she 'snarls' at the border terrier before slam dunking her - it is playing, honest!
Lurcher smiles only tend to be one side of her mouth.
 
my little springer is really smiley. When we are out for a walk (not that she walks much, it's all or nothing with her) she comes running back up to me with a huge grin on her face and her tongue lolling out with her face all covered in spit, it cracks me up every time!:D
 
Yes our heeler does it too, in fact not so much a smile but a real toothy grin! People think he is snarling at them.:( He's not smiling much tonight though as he has been to the vets today and is no minus a couple of rather important (to him) parts. :p
 
my friends dog does it when you scratch her belly :)

daisysmile.jpg
 
We used to have a crazy lab who would do this except he would fly down the hall way towards you when you came home, launch in to the air and smile at you when he was about level with your face!!! He was a little hyperactive shall we say!!!
 
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