Are really dogs smiling at us?
We’ve all seen it at one point or another: a dog who appeared to be smiling. Lips pulled back, eyes and brow relaxed, maybe even tail wagging – of course that dog is smiling! Right?
A well-accepted theory among dog behavior experts is that dogs smile because they know we humans love it. We see our dogs lounging on the rug with their mouths hanging open, lips pulled back, looking utterly satisfied with themselves, and we go ga-ga with praise and pets. Dogs probably also observe their humans smiling at them and among themselves; they know people smiles are inherently positive (at the very least, benign), and that they can communicate amicability by miming that behavior.
The Merriam-Webster English dictionary defines a smile (noun) as “a facial expression in which the eyes brighten and the corners of the mouth curve slightly upward and which expresses especially amusement, pleasure, approval, or sometimes scorn.” Human smiles can be involuntary, like when we experience a beautiful moment, or they can be entirely performative, like when we need a favor from someone we don’t like.
It’s safe to say that smiles are essential to the human body language vocabulary. We smile to manipulate other people as often and as naturally as we smile to connect with them. Why then shouldn’t dogs, who have spent the past fifteen millennia becoming masters of non-verbal communication with humans, be able to do the same?
