March 20, 2013 8:17 am
People Can Accurately Read Dogs’ Facial Expressions
Photo: Duane Storey
Walk in on your dog chewing up your shoe, and he’s likely to put on a guilty face. Throw him a bone, and he’ll grin from ear to ear. Tie him up in the yard during a party, and he’ll likely look sad and longingly at the festivities.
As it turns out, you’re not imagining these dog facial expressions. Dogs do project their feelings through their expression, and people are generally pretty good at interpreting them, Wired reports.
To scientifically show this, researchers from Walden University in Florida relied upon a Belgian shepherd named Mal. The researchers subjected Mal to a number of activities in order to elicit various emotions, then took his photo during his most expressive moments. To inspire his happiness, the researchers praised him; to make him sad, they reprimanded him; to surprise him, they scared him with a jack-in-the-box; and to make him angry, they had a colleague pose as a criminal.
Then, they asked 50 volunteers to take a look at the pooch’s photo spread. Nearly everyone accurately picked out Mal’s “happy” photos, just under half of participants correctly labeled “scared” and “sad.” Just 13 percent were able to detect “disgust,” which the researchers elicited by feeding Mal medicine with a bad taste.
Interestingly, Wired points out, those people who did not own dogs performed a bit better than those who did. The researchers are not sure why this was so, though they speculate that judging a dog’s emotions may be an innate ability we all have, though dog owners might be oddly biased against admitting a pet may be disgusted or angry. The question of whether cat lovers may be better at picking out emotions such as “disdain,” “condescension” or “mania” in felines’ expressions awaits further experimentation.
More from Smithsonian.com:
Why Dogs Are More Like Humans than Wolves
Dogs Chasing Their Tails Are Akin to Humans with OCD
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I am not sure why anyone would be surprised by this, and also why it took research. It seems very obvious to me.
Comment by Pamela Lambert — March 21, 2013 @ 8:24 pm
I don’t mean to be rude, but if this is surprising to some; that is just sad. I’ve had dogs save my life not only once, but twice in my lifetime. They have a built-in something that I wish all humans had. Maybe it’s called kindness and compassion.
Comment by Pam — March 22, 2013 @ 8:11 am
I’m glad that finally some people validate my thoughts and observations. I’m the owner of 3 Siberian Huskies, (and in the past I owned several German Sheppard’s). When y said to my family and friends about this kind of behavior on my dogs, they laugh and say that I’m making up those things because I’m imagining things, or due to my passion for them, I’m exaggerating his “qualities”, etc. or bluntly of getting senile. Thanks a lot.
Comment by rrauld — March 22, 2013 @ 1:30 pm
I have had several Lab or lab mix dogs and with several I could read there expriissions and several could understand eather voice or facial commands.My last lab/golden could get me to get up for its needs or wants.The verry best noesses for finding lost little chieldren(6)lost eather in neighborhood or forrest(big bassen,Sequoia kings cayon,sants scruse beach&.I dearly miss them all as they have been great palls–sniffff.
Comment by sam — March 22, 2013 @ 9:33 pm
For those who wonder why this study is interesting:
- It goes beyond the simple fact that we can recognize their emotion.
This is also how dogs became Man’s best friend: by emphasizing with us. It shows us how truly intelligent they are. The simple fact that an animal can make himself understood by us is truly amazing. Think about it: can you read cows like you read dogs? No. Because dogs are so intelligent they have secured their place by the greatest predator of all, thus ensuring its safety. Their ability to show emotions similar to ours has enabled them to survive up the food chain. Pure Genius.
Comment by Cathy — April 2, 2013 @ 9:55 am