Does it feel as though every time you catch your canine friend redhanded breaking a household rule they often have what you think looks like a guilty face Or can you recall the many times you thought youd seen your dog giving you a confused look
Turns out you werent imagining things A new study conducted by a team of researchers from George Washington University discovered humans can accurately read and understand their dogs facial expressions particularly if the canine ranges between two and seven years of age
Cow attempts to break out of slaughterhouse Thank God for what happens next
CBS News reports the scientists came to the conclusion after analyzing several interactions between humans and their dogs
According to the study how a dogs face looks that is whether they have a plain singlecolored face or a multicolored one determines how well their owners will understand these facial expressions
Decoding a dogs facial expressions
Interestingly the researchers discovered dogs with plain singlecolored faces like Golden Retrievers for instance often convey facial expressions in a much more obvious manner during interactions with humans
Therefore owners with plainfaced dogs have a higher chance of accurately discerning their dogs emotions and what theyre trying to communicate through facial expressions
On the other hand the study found owners whose dogs have multicolored faces for example Saint Bernards usually have a harder time decoding their pups facial expressions As such these owners may not be able to correctly discern what their canines are thinking or feeling
Moreover scientists concluded senior dogs often exhibit fewer facial expressions than younger ones According to their findings this is because senior dogs have lived with their owners for an extended period so there is a better understanding between them and their humans
In other words older dogs dont feel the need to be more facially expressive to make a point to their pet parents
Carol Erickson an advocate with the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals SPCA acknowledged the role of this study in helping strengthen the connection between people and their dogs
This study is important because it shows that people are in the house with animals youre seeing animals on the street and if you can learn to read their faces as theyve learned to read ours it really helps that humananimal bond Erickson shared
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