I can't help but want to ask you a question.
Can a dog smile, and is it really a smile when it opens its mouth? ? ?
Won't! Many people may disagree with this answer.
In fact, even if we humans smile, it does not necessarily mean that we are really smiling, let alone dogs, we cannot simply equate human expressions and movements with dog expressions and movements, they have their own unique ways of expressing emotions .
For example: If your dog's mouth is slightly open and the corners of the mouth are turned up, it may look particularly like it is smiling, but it may be tense, anxious, or in pain, especially if the latter is accompanied by heavy panting with the tongue stuck out, Whining or chattering.
In addition, the dog will also show a smiling face when declaring its level. When the dog receives threats from animals or humans it considers "superior", it will raise its lips to express affiliation such as "brother, I accept it" or Ready to retreat, this is still a smiley face, but it shows fangs, and the smile is slightly ugly...but it is gentle, and it is not the same as the aggressive toothy one, dogs know the difference...
Of course, when the dog is relaxing, it does act on the mouth muscles to make it look like it is smiling, the problem is, you can see this smiley face when it is not too happy...
In fact, apart from the face, many other body language can also reflect the dog's mood, the most typical one is the tail. The tail not only wags to the left, but also swirls continuously. The tip of the tail is raised to pinched, which represents a continuous emotional change from excitement to fear, while a rapid horizontal wag of the tail symbolizes friendliness. Of course, not all tail wags are positive emotions, sometimes they wag their tails in a fast, stiff way, representing nervousness, confusion or worry.
And one thing cannot be ignored, dogs have a strong ability to imitate, just like howling is contagious. A dog's barking is disturbing, and it may cause a chemical reaction, and a group of dogs will bark incessantly. Dogs have lived in a human environment since they were young, and naturally learned human expressions. We often smile at dogs. As the boss in its mind, it will gradually become imitating people from being uneasy at the beginning. Its "smiles" will also increase.
So, dogs sometimes show a smiley face, is it really smiling?
Really not.