DOES your dog have a big, ear to ear grin that seems to say I love you? That might be exactly what that big beaming grin is saying, according to new research.
A new UK study suggests dogs can attempt to communicate using facial expressions.
The University of Portsmouth study saw the team conduct experiments with 24 domestic dogs of various breeds.
Participating dogs were presented with four different situations in which a human was either facing them or turned away- both with and without food.
In each trial, facial responses were recorded with a video camera and analysed.
The research carried out by Juliane Kaminski and colleagues, found dogs produced significantly more facial movements when the demonstrator was facing them, but that the presence or absence of food had no effect.
The study suggests dogs produce facial expressions communicatively and increase the frequency of facial movements based on the level of attention they receive.
