Dog faces can be incredibly cute — here’s how and why
Certain muscles help make dogs ‘smile’ or raise an eyebrow, expressions that help them bond with humans.
From The Washington Post
By Galadriel Watson
August 23, 2022 at 9:15 a.m. EDT
When its owner arrives home, a dog may seem to smile. When a dog wants to go for a walk, it may lift an eyebrow and look pathetic. These adorable expressions have helped create a “deep, long-standing bond between humans and dogs,” says Anne Burrows, a professor of physical therapy at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They also make dogs unique when compared with species such as wolves or cats.
Burrows and her team discovered that domesticated dogs have a muscle in the eyebrow region that gray wolves don’t: the levator anguli oculi medialis. “This allows dogs to make that puppy-dog-eyes face,” says Burrows. “And wolves just don’t make that face.”
They also studied two muscles around the mouth: the orbicularis oris and the zygomaticus major. Both dogs and wolves do have these muscles. In dogs, however, they’re mostly composed of fast-twitch fibers. In wolves, they’re mostly slow-twitch.
To understand what this means, Burrows says to think of human runners. “If you’re a sprinter, you’re going to run really fast but only for a short distance. Your leg muscles are probably dominated by fast-twitch fibers,” since these can contract quickly.
“If, though, you’re a marathon runner, you might take a while to get up to speed, but you’re going to last a long time. So marathon runners probably have leg muscles that are dominated by slow-twitch fibers.” These shift more gradually into motion but then don’t get tired as soon.
A dog with primarily fast-twitch fibers, therefore, can quickly make facial expressions. (Humans are fast-twitch face-makers, too.) These fibers also mean they’re great at barking, “which is a really fast movement of the lips.”
On the other hand, wolves’ muscles are perfect for extended movements — such as howling. “They kind of turn their mouth into a funnel, and they hold that contraction for, you know, 30 seconds maybe,” Burrows says.
But why are dogs’ and wolves’ muscles and behaviors different? One possibility is that, when humans were first domesticating wolves — which would eventually become what we now know as “dogs” — “they were choosing this animal that barked instead of howled,” Burrows says. Some 40,000 years ago, people were deciding to hang out with dogs that were good at creating alarm calls, such as indicating when a stranger was outside. It just happened to be that these dogs — the ones with more fast-twitch fibers than slow-twitch ones — could also make the sweetest faces.
Then again, maybe those ancient humans felt a stronger bond with dogs that could look cute and the barking trait was a bonus. After all, gazing into a dog’s eyes is known to release a hormone called oxytocin (ox-see-TOH-sin) in both human and dog. “It’s thought to be a love hormone, a hormone that promotes bonding,” Burrows says.
As for pet cats, they have similar facial muscles to dogs but don’t generally use them to peer at us longingly. Instead, they’re mostly used to control their whiskers, which help them navigate their environment. Those movements don’t usually get an emotional response from humans.
“I love my cats,” Burrows says, “but in a different way.”
3 Signs Your Dog Is Stressed
From UC Davis Magazine
by Shelby Dioum | Jul 6, 2022 | Aggie Life, Animal Science, Spring/Summer 2022
Dogs get stressed just like humans. When dogs act out, tense up or become distant, their owners may wish that their dogs could verbally tell them what’s wrong. Fortunately, though, dogs have body language that can help their caregivers better understand them. Emma Grigg, an animal behaviorist at UC Davis, said that understanding their behavior plays a significant role in their welfare. “It makes us more compassionate when they’re doing something we don’t like if we can understand what’s triggering that behavior,” Grigg said. Here are some ways that your dog may express to you that they are stressed or anxious.
Leaning away
This is a sign that a dog is fearful of a certain situation. Some dogs will lean away from what is stressing them out (an unwanted hug, for example). Other times, a dog may avert its head slightly, but keep its eyes fixated on a person or thing. According to Grigg, dogs may do this to pretend that whatever is stressing them is not there, or to signal that they don’t want an interaction to continue.
Tensing up
“When [dogs] suddenly get very still and tense, it’s a huge sign that they’re uncomfortable,” said Grigg. Many dog owners may think that a tense dog is being stubborn or dramatic, but they may actually be anxious or irritated. Relaxed dogs are wiggly and loose, according to Grigg, so a dog may be very uncomfortable if it suddenly goes tense.
Firmly closing the mouth
“A happy dog will have a relaxed, open mouth with their tongue hanging out,” said Grigg. On the other hand, a dog with a firmly closed mouth may be uncomfortable in a particular moment or environment. “This sign is subtle and can be easy to overlook,” Grigg added.
The Problem with, “May I Pet Your Dog?”
From: Whole Dog Journal
www.wholedogjournal.org
Let’s ask the dog – not the handler – and learn when his body language truly is answering “Yes!”
By
Published:May 23, 2022
It used to be that if folks wanted to pet your dog, they just reached out and did it. Happily, in today’s more well-informed world, there’s usually a quick, “May I pet your dog?” first. All too often, though, the moment that permission is granted, the stranger is moving in close and looming over the dog, swiftly thrusting a hand an inch from the dog’s nose. The dog – perhaps pushed forward a bit by the owner who sees how eagerly the other human wants this – might find an enthusiastic, two-handed ear jostle is next.
For some dogs – the stereo-typical Golden Retriever, perhaps? – this is the moment they’ve been waiting for! That extra human attention may even be the highlight of their walk. If your family has only included extroverted canine ambassadors like this, the idea that a dog would not welcome an outstretched hand is incomprehensible.
Yet, comprehend we must. Because, believe it or not, few dogs automatically love being trapped on a leash and touched by new people. As hard as it is for us to accept, that quiet dog being petted may well be hating every moment that the human is enjoying so much. While that’s important to understand when you’re the stranger in the scenario, it’s absolutely critical when you’re the one holding the leash.
DON’T ASSUME THAT DOGS WANT TO BE PETTED
Indeed, plenty of wonderful dogs are not eager to say hello to strangers. They may feel anything from uninterested, to wary, to terrified. In some cases, they have been specially bred – by humans – to feel what they’re feeling.
Unfortunately, because we humans value petting dogs so much, we often ignore that pesky truth. We tend to believe that all good dogs should happily accept petting from anybody at any time. But dogs have plenty of reasons for choosing to say no:
- Perhaps they’ve been bred to guard, so this forced interaction with strangers is deeply conflicting.
- Perhaps they’re simply more introverted and don’t enjoy this kind of socialization.
- Perhaps something in their background has made them less trusting of people.
- Perhaps normally they’d be all in, but today their ear hurts, or they are very distracted by the big German Shepherd staring at them from across the street.
There are many reasons, all legitimate, that may make a dog prefer to skip this unnecessary interaction.
DON’T GIVE CONSENT ON BEHALF OF YOUR DOG
Becoming conscious of just how deeply some dogs do not want to be randomly touched is the first step toward realizing that we really should be asking dogs, not their handlers, whether or not we can pet them. Ultimately, it’s the dog’s consent we need in order to safely pet them, not the human’s.
Maybe the idea of giving our dogs the right to consent feels strange to you. For my part, it feels downright creepy to not give my dog the right to consent or decline to being touched by a stranger. It feels wrong that I have the power to decree, “Sure, absolutely, you go right ahead and put your hands all over this dog’s body. She’s so pretty, isn’t she? We all love to touch her.” Ew!
Of course, dogs can’t verbally answer the “May I pet you?” question (when given the opportunity to do so), but they sure do answer with their body language. Unfortunately, most people don’t have the skills to read what can be very subtle signals, and as a result, many dogs are routinely subjected to handling that makes them uncomfortable. Worse, this often happens while they’re restrained by a leash with their owner allowing it.
That experience can make dogs even less enamored of strangers, and – the saddest part – less trusting of their owners, who did not step up to help them through that moment.
TIPS FOR MAKING FRIENDS WITH A DOG
I give my dogs agency when it comes to who touches them and when. If somebody asks, “May I pet your dog?” I smile at their interest and tell them I’d love for them to ask the dog. Then I show them how:
- Keep a little distance at first.
- Turn a bit to the side, so you don’t appear confrontational.
- Use your warm, friendly voice to continually reassure.
- Crouch down, so that you’re not looming in a scary way.
- Keep your glances soft and light instead of giving a steady stare.
- Offer your hand to sniff. But instead of the fist shoved unavoidably in the dog’s face (which is what society has been taught is the polite thing to do), simply move that hand ever so slightly toward the dog so she has a choice of whether to get closer to investigate. Look elsewhere as she does so, so she can have a little privacy as she sniffs.
Often, this approach gets us to a waggy “yes” from even a shy dog in 30 seconds!
HOW TO TELL IF YOUR DOG IS GIVING CONSENT
If the dog pulls toward the stranger with a loose, relaxed, or wiggly body, the dog is saying yes. Great! The next step is to begin petting the dog in the spot she’s offering – likely her chest or rump. (A top-of-the-head pat is on many dogs’ list of “Top 10 Things I Hate About Humans.”)
If my dog does not give a quick or easy “yes,” I may try backing us up a bit and making conversation, because many dogs warm up after having a few minutes at a safe distance to size up a new human. I might feed my dog a few treats while talking to the stranger, or give him some treats to toss near my dog. If she then relaxes and leans into the experience, great!
If not, we just call it a day and move along. That is also – and this is critically important – great! No harm, no foul. No need to apologize if our dogs say, “No thanks.” We can simply and cheerily head on our way.
Using Kinesiology Tape On Your Dog
FROM THE WHOLE DOG JOURNAL
Proponents say that kinesiology tape can help your dog recover from chronic and acute sports injuries. It’s not expensive to give it a try, so why not learn how?
Although there is lack of evidence, veterinarians, canine rehabilitation therapists, and canine massage therapists who routinely use kinesiology tape report that many of their patients improve as a result. Taping is easily incorporated into other hands-on treatments, most dogs quickly adapt to it, and it can be done at home by family members between treatment visits.
Cleaning Products You Should Never Use Around Your Pets
from MAIDS.COM
Benefits of Dogs for Cancer Patients
Whether the dog is a personal pet, a therapy or service animal or even a part of the medical research process, “man’s best friend” can make a difference in the lives of cancer patients.
A Great Resource for Mini and Micro Pig Information
Considering a mini or micro pig as a pet? You can be sure that a pig is the best pet for you by going to an excellent source of information is at www.minimicropigs.com !
Have fun reading about cute little piggies!
The Origin of the Horse
Horses are magnificent creatures, but have you ever stopped to wonder how long they have been around or how many breeds their are and what each was bred for?
READ MORE and you will find out all of that and more from www.simplehorselife.com!
Hints on Training Your Puppy
Puppies are adorable and loving and happy and you must begin POSITIVE training at an early age. Be sure to look for a positive reinforcement trainer if you are going that route and watch your tone when training your puppy-love.
READ MORE
Study: Dogs Understand Spoken Words Better Than We Thought
From Healthy Pets
Mercola
By Dr. Karen Becker
https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2020/05/01/dogs-understand-spoken-words.aspx?cid_source=petsnl&cid_medium=email&cid_content=art1HL&cid=20200501Z1&et_cid=DM521245&et_rid=862360194
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- New study results suggest that dogs understand spoken words even better than we thought
- Researchers concluded that dogs recognize spoken words regardless of the speaker, and they do it instinctively
- The study proves that despite previous assumptions, this spontaneous ability is not uniquely human and that dogs share this linguistic talent
- Earlier research indicates that dogs hear not only what we say, but how we say it
- Similar to us, our dogs use the left hemisphere of their brains to process meaningful words, and the right hemisphere to process vocal tones
The ability to recognize specific word sounds (e.g., vowels) in human speech is assumed to be a uniquely human trait. After all, small differences in sound frequencies can completely change the meaning of a word, for example, “had”, “hid” and “who’d,” or “mat”, “mitt”, and “met.” The sound changes between these groups of words are so minor that word recognition software often misinterprets them.
In addition, the sound of words changes depending on the speaker — his or her age, body size, mouth shape, and other factors. For all these reasons, many researchers have held the opinion that instinctive recognition of word sounds is uniquely human, and that animals such as dogs would need training, at a minimum, to develop the skill.
However, if you’re a dog parent or spend time around dogs, you’ve probably seen for yourself that dogs can and do learn words from one person and recognize those words when they’re spoken by someone else. I’d venture to guess the vast majority of family dogs recognize the word “treat” no matter who says it!
Study: Dogs Understand Spoken Words Better Than We Thought
Recently, a team of U.K. researchers decided to see if dogs are able to recognize the same little sounds (called phonemes) that make up words, when the words are spoken by different people with varying accents and pronunciation.1
The researchers chose words that began with an “h” and ended with a “d” but had different vowels —such as “had”, “head”, “hid” and “hood” — and that would also have no meaning to the dogs. The words were recorded by 14 female and 13 male speakers of varying ages and different accents, none of whom were familiar to the dogs in the study.
Each dog sat with his or her owner near an audio speaker while a sequence of six recorded words played with six seconds of silence between each word. The dog’s responses were videotaped.
Psychology professor and neuropsychological researcher Stanley Coren, Ph.D., author of the best-selling book “The Intelligence of Dogs,” in an article for Psychology Today, describes a likely testing scenario:
“One experimental trial might have run this way. The dog to be tested is presented with a string of repetitions of the word ‘had’ through the speaker. Suppose that in this instance the word was spoken by a woman.
Typically, when the dog first hears this new word spoken by this female voice he would point his ears forward, or move toward the speaker, or flick his eyes in the direction that the sound was coming from, all of which are signs of attention and engagement.
“However, as other women with different accents repeat the word ‘had’ the dog loses interest indicating that he knows that they are all saying the same thing. On the other hand, when a female speaker in the sequence says a new word, one with a different vowel, like ‘hid’, the dog now perks up again, indicating that he noticed the difference. But when the next woman’s voice returns to saying ‘had’ his attention will again flag.”2
After evaluating the videotaped sessions, the researchers concluded that dogs recognize spoken words regardless of the speaker, and they do it instinctively.
“These results are significant because they confirm two important aspects of speech recognition in dogs,” Coren writes. “First, they can distinguish between subtle changes in vowel sounds that identify particular words. Second, dogs isolate the important word sounds from all of the changes in sound quality associated with different speakers.”
Lead study author Dr. Holly Root-Gutteridge, a postdoctoral researcher with the Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group in the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex made this observation in an interview with Sci-News:
“The ability to recognize words as the same when spoken by different people is critical to speech, as otherwise people wouldn’t be able to recognize words as the same when spoken by different people.
This research shows that, despite previous assumptions, this spontaneous ability is not uniquely human and that dogs share this linguistic talent, suggesting that speech perception may not be as special to humans as we previously thought.”3
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Dogs’ Brains Work Similar to Ours to Process What We Say
In 2016, researchers in Budapest published a study that looked at how dogs’ brains process human speech.4 They came to the conclusion that our canine friends listen not only to what we say, but how we say it.
The scientists discovered that when we praise our dogs, the reward centers in their brains perk up if the words we use match our tone of voice. These findings suggest the ability to process words evolved much earlier than was originally thought and may not be unique to humans.
According to Phys.org, the study shows “… that if an environment is rich in speech, as is the case of family dogs, word meaning representations can arise in the brain, even in a non-primate mammal that is not able to speak.”5
For the study, the researchers recruited 13 family dogs — primarily Border Collies and Golden Retrievers — who excelled at lying completely still in an fMRI scanner, facilitating analysis of their brain activity. The dogs were volunteer study participants, were never restrained inside the scanner and could leave at any time.
The researchers recorded a trainer’s voice saying certain phrases with varying types of intonation. In the recordings, the trainer praised the dogs using Hungarian words and phrases that in English translate to “good boy,” “super,” and “well done.”
The words were spoken in both an upbeat tone and a neutral tone. The trainer also used neutral words like “however,” and “nevertheless” that meant nothing to the dogs.
While the recording played, the researchers studied the scans for regions of the dogs’ brains that were differentiating between the praise and meaningless words, as well as praise and neutral tones of voice. They observed that the dogs used the left hemisphere to process meaningful (but not meaningless) words, and the right hemisphere to process vocal tones.
Per Phys.org, “This was the same auditory brain region that this group of researchers previously found in dogs for processing emotional non-speech sounds from both dogs and humans, suggesting that intonation processing mechanisms are not specific to speech.”
Lead researcher Attila Andics of Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest explains:
“During speech processing, there is a well-known distribution of labor in the human brain. It is mainly the left hemisphere’s job to process word meaning, and the right hemisphere’s job to process intonation.
The human brain not only separately analyzes what we say and how we say it, but also integrates the two types of information, to arrive at a unified meaning. Our findings suggest that dogs can also do all that, and they use very similar brain mechanisms.”6
Processing Words Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Understanding Them
“One important thing is that we don’t claim that dogs understand everything we say, of course,” Andics told HuffPost in an email.7
There can be a difference between a dog processing words for their familiarity and actually understanding the words as we intend. As study co-author Adam Miklosi, head of the Family Dog Project told Scientific American magazine:
“‘Understanding’ is a tricky word. Studies using brain imaging technology cannot firmly say that the activation of a specific brain area indicates ‘understanding.’
“For sure, dogs in this study reacted to the meaningful words, that is, to those words that their owners often use when they want to attract the dog’s attention or provide a positive feedback for the dog. So in this sense our dogs recognized these words as familiar and probably meaning something good.”8
An important result of the study is that it demonstrates the left hemisphere of dogs’ brains processes meaningful words separate from the vocal tone. This suggests your dog may understand that “good dog” is praise regardless of the tone of voice you use when you say it, because he recognizes those words as meaningful vs. meaningless.
“We think that intonation is important,” says Miklosi. “Owners should learn how to praise a dog, and then use the same expression in similar way. Consistency in praising and in general in communication with the dog is important.”
The researchers suspect they would have similar results in studies of other domestic animals like cats and horses, as long as the animals had lived among humans. They hope this study and subsequent research can be used to enhance communication and cooperation between dogs and humans.