[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Do Dogs Smile? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 10/27/2005 6:00:57 AM EDT
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Dog people argue about whether dogs smile with their face. Some maintain they do. Others maintain they only "smile" with their tail (wagging). What do you say? Can you tell when a dog is "smiling" simply by looking at the dog's face? |
Their mouth also opens. Doesn't that amount to a smile? |
Nope. They're panting. Same as the dog in the pic Armoredsaint posted... Panting. I have a dog that does not pant much. Consequently, she doesn't "smile" very often. My mom's dog - a Sheltie - "smiles" all the time. Because he pants a lot. Edit: We tend to anthropomorphize things with our pets in particular. When my dog uses her front paws to hold her bone or something, my wife says "She's using her hands!" Just because we see what we think is a smile, doesn't mean it's a smile. Edit2: I've had dogs "wink" at me too. But it was because they only chose to blink one eye that time, not because they knew that winking had the social connotations we assign to it... |
I've had a couple of dogs smile at me . One was when I was a kid he would scrunch up his snout and show his teeth while wagging his tail, he would also bring us "presents" while smiling. My dog now will smile when he sees me and is happy,he wags his tail,does the scrunch thing and you can just see it, he smiles.
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Read the part in red again. They are your own words. The ears go back a bit and their eyes light up when they are panting? You said that was a sign they are "happy". Just FYI, my dogs ears don't go back and his eyes don't light up when he is panting. He pants all the time and that doesn't happen. You would agree, wouldn't you, that you can tell when a dog is angry or sad from just looking at the face, can't you? So you can tell all the other emotions but not when they are smiling? |
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Yes, some do. We owned a golden retriever for one month shy of fifteen years. When he was a big pup we noticed him pulling his upper lips back and "smiling" when he was in certain situations that were likely producing intense joy. One day at the vet's, I asked him and he confirmed that very happy pooches do in fact smile. It is part of their gesture repitoire and often seen when they are very happy. Ours did it often. He was a real well adjusted and socialized big mutt and just another [canine] son to us. I do miss him...but I know he's waiting for me... 
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You can tell when a dog is angry or sad from looking at the face and their entire body, including the tail. Angry- tail tends to stop wagging, eyes fixed, growling and showing of teeth. Sad- eyes go down, lids too, generally mopey demeanor. I've had a few dogs and have had contact with hundreds. None of them "smiled" anymore than they "winked" at me. I even heard a dog "say" "Mama" once on TV. Was it truly saying "MAMA"? Nope. It had been trained to "speak" a certain growling noise that earned it rewards... I'll ask my wife what she thinks and post it here. Also have her ask a friend who is studying to be a vet and works part time at a SPCA shelter what she thinks. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But none of the dogs I've ever had contact with have ever "smiled" in the way we know it. They've panted with the corners of their mouths up slightly so it looked TO US like they were smiling, but did they do it intentionally to convey that they were happy? I don't think so. |
 Those pictures are great!
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My wife and her friend both say they think dogs smile:
I personally disagree- I think we anthropomorphize animal's behaviours at times - but respect theirs and your opinions. |
My parent's golden retriever does smile, and it's not just panting. He does it without opening his mouth. It's plainly obvious. I don't have a picture of it, but I am going over to their house tonight and I will try and get a pitcure to post tomorrow. |
The dog just don't smile at you. 
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You described the facial characteristics of a dog smile yourself. Also, you can tell when a dog is sad or angry without looking at the rest of their body. My dog pants with no particular expression most of the time, and then he pants with a smile on his face at some times. Two different things with clearly different expressions. You mentioned some of the differences in the expression yourself. |
Fine. Dogs smile with their faces. I am simply saying that dogs don't smile- by the definition I have for the word smile - the way we do. Smiling is primarily a function of the mouth and the common acceptance of that definition is evident in this thread. People have responded how their dogs smile at them and some pictures have been posted supposedly supporting that idea (they look like they're panting to me  ). Do I think dogs smile in the way we define "smile?" No. But if they're happy- and you're only saying "Look at the dog's head, can you tell if it's happy?" Yes. Semantics.
I referred to definition 1. You and others were likely referring to definition 2. |
Ummmm, it has been long established that smiling involves more than the corners of the mouth. It involves the whole face. Dogs vary in their ability to bring up the corners of their mouth. Some can do it quite readily and others can't. But the rest of the facial expression is there -- and you described some of it yourself. |
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I have three Golden Retrievers - one smiles very frequently (curls up her lips almost like a snarl while wagging her whole body when she greets us), her sister smiles in a similar manner very occasionally, while their mother has never smiled (even though she is the most social of the three). So to answer your question - YES dogs do smile
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 There you go again.
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You need to read your own messages and the responses and think them through. You are a bright boy. I am sure you will figure out why it happens if you really think about it. But you gotta be honest with yourself. |
Yes, had all kinds of dogs, G-sheps, Labs, Cockers, Beagles, Border Collie, and Brittany spaniel. but none come close to the SMILE that my wifes Yorkie does when I come home after being gone. This dog actually brings a toothy smile to her face. No other dog has come as close to this one for a true smile. This one brings her whole upper lip up and back curving it to a true smile. She shakes with excitment and her tail is vibrating. I will try to get a picture of it and post. This is all I have for now. The Yorkie's touge is covering the smile.
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| My folks used to have two dogs, the older one passed away a little while after the new one was a puppy. That puppy terrorized the older dog the way only a happy puppy can. One day the puppy got in some serious ass-whoopin' shit and when it was over we turned around and there was the older dog with the biggest shit-eating grin I have ever seen. It was definitely a smile.. |
