do dogs smile?

[Comatozed]

hi, i have a dog his name is anthony he is 4 months old, he is a golden retriever (in my opinion the best breed) anyway, when i pet him, it's like i almost see a smile on the side of his face. do dogs really smile?

[Smilla]

I really don't know. However, one day last summer, I was rounding the corner out of my apartment when I came across my neighbor's Golden. I returned his "smile" as I might smile back at a person. It was a source of great amusement to me a couple of seconds later when it hit me what I'd done.

[carrie]

Hi,
Some dogs lip line curves in a natural smiley position but dogs can actually smile too. A proper grin is a better discription of most doggy smiles. Interestingly wolves in the wild do not smile but captive wolves learn the expression- where from? The only reasonable answer is from the humans that care for them. Dogs and wolves never use the same expression to each other, the same mouth shape occurs but not with the same intention or meaning. So yes dogs can smile.

[dogncatluvr]

Yes definitely dogs can smile! My parents had a black Lab, Dana, that smiled all the time! She was one of our vet's favorites!
Sadly she passed to the Rainbow Bridge Aug. '99.

[Comatozed]

hey, thanx a lot guys, i thought they smiled!! well, now i know.......smilla, i always smile at my dog.weird.carie thanx for that very thorough observation and dogncatluvr aww that's too bad about your dog, it must have been very cute, thanx to all of you guys.

[Smilla]

How do you tell when it goes from a natural smiley line to an actual smile? I've never seen my Corgi "grin" unless her tongue was out of her mouth as well, and then I decided she was panting. I can't recall ever seeing a dog grin unless its tongue was out as well--is the tongue part of a dog's smile, or is this just panting?

[Smilla]

How do you tell when it goes from a natural smiley line to an actual smile? I've never seen my Corgi "grin" unless her tongue was out of her mouth as well, and then I decided she was panting. I can't recall ever seeing a dog grin unless its tongue was out as well--is the tongue part of a dog's smile, or is this just panting?

[Comatozed]

exactly!! whenever i come to my dog he's ALWAYS "grinning". maybe he's just happy that i'm petting him or is it just his expression?

[carrie]

Hi again,
Most doggy smiles are a combination of lifting the lips to bare the teeth and a wrinkling of the muzzle. Less expressive dogs will widen their gape and use their eyes just as humans do. (Wolves and dogs have a similar expression when showing extreme submission, teeth firmly closed and the lips drawn back.)

[Dixieland Dancer]

Goldens are noted for smiling. They are also the best breed in my opinion too. I have owned Goldens for the past 20 years and my female that I have now smiles all the time. She doesn't have her tongue hanging out all the time either. It is just a curl of the jaw muscles. She is very affectionate and a very happy dog. Her best trait however is that she makes me smile and laugh too! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif

[Comatozed]

hey dixie, thanx for posting that, my dog makes me laugh too, they are cute dogs...

[Sophies Daddy]

My papillon Sophie smiles all of the time. I like to say that she is the happiest dog alive and most people who meet her agree.

[Smilla]

She smiles because she knows her life took a turn for the better when you rescued her from that dumpster. http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif (I remember Sophie's smile--sort of Mona Lisa-like, no?)

[RachelJ]

My Tucker, a Cocker, has such a sad looking face, even though I know he's not unhappy. He'll be walking around outside looking down in the dumps and I'll say, "Hey, Tucker" and hold my arms in a circle down near the ground. He knows this is for him to jump through and his whole face just lights up with the biggest smile and he comes like lightening to do his jump. I love to do this just to see the change of expression on his face.

[This message has been edited by RachelJ (edited November 01, 2000).]

[karen israel]

I know Cody's smiling all the time, and I DEFINITELY do when I'm with him! Sophie's Dad..I've seen your photos, and like I said before, she's a little angel and she is always smiling ear to ear! Don't forget to smooch her for me!

[Sophies Daddy]

Originally posted by Smilla:
She smiles because she knows her life took a turn for the better when you rescued her from that dumpster. http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif (I remember Sophie's smile--sort of Mona Lisa-like, no?)
Mona Lisa? I guess there is a kind of sly look to her smile. I hope that she forgot the dumpster by now, but you never know... Right now, she's just a smiling dervish!

I will have some new Sophie pictures in my Photopoint album from Halloween tonight (11/2). You can also see my Sophie costume! Click on this blue text (http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=253143&a=1881713) to take a look. Oh no!, I just noticed that she isn't smiling in a single one!

[Sophies Daddy]

By the way, Karen, I gave Sophie a kiss for you.

[karen israel]

Hey Sophie's Dad! Are you kidding? Did you see your own pictures? She's grinning from ear to ear on almost every one! On some she is being a seductive, alluring little girl with a hint of a grin! "Happy Girl" is gorgeous, and Sophie with the Good Glass is turning into my wallpaper on my computer. Best of all..LOVED LOVED your costume!! It was AWESOME!! I'm STILL laughing! How CLEVER! Hope Sophie got lots of dog goodies!

[Bruin-and-Chloe's-Mom]

My grandmother had a collie Susie that stayed outside. On the rare occasions Susie got to come inside, she would get so excited that her entire body would wiggle and her lips definitely curled up in what we always called a "doggy smile."

[JKRJG24]

Hay how come everyone has seen pictures but me?

[Sophies Daddy]

Since I am a shameless promoter of my wonderful little girl, you can see pictures of Sophie by clicking on this blue text (http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=253143&a=1881713) anytime you like!

[MyBarney]

Hi

I've been lurking for a little while and I just wanted to introduce my smiling dog, Barney. Pictures of him are at http://users.cyberone.com.au/katieb/barney.html

I enjoy looking at dog of the day and reading your stories. All the best to you and your pets...

Katie

[KYS]

Yep! I would say that Sophie and Barney
are smiling.
My dogs appear to smile too, but I do
know one thing, they shure do put
a smile on my face. http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/wink.gif

[Sophies Daddy]

I have to agree: Barney is a smiling dude as well. My mother has a purebred Silky Terrorist, er, terrier. He is a wonderful dog and extremely intelligent (of course, I picked him from the litter!) He smiles every time I visit my mother and insists that I cuddle with him by jumping into my lap and literally hugging me. The amazing thing about this is that he really doesn't care for people at all, at least not in a social sense.

Would you expect a dog to smile even though he or she isn't a "people dog?"

[carrie]

Non people dogs are often the best smilers when greeting or interacting with the privilaged few that are their chosen ones!

[ktreva52]

Sometimes it really is a smile. Our Jack Russell Terrier mix, Shiloh, gets this really happy look in her eyes and a wide, panty "smile" on her face when she's really happy or playing. Panting generally shows few teeth, but smiling shows them back to the molars. All of my dogs have shown this difference when they're playing, so I believe they're really smiling.

P.S. Sophie and Barney are real cuties.


[This message has been edited by ktreva52 (edited November 12, 2000).]

[karen israel]

I agree, Barney's adorable... Roley's a real looker too!!!!!!

[MyBarney]

That's nice of you to say - we certainly think so! Some people are frightened of Roley's size and/or breed (Ridgeback x), but he's a real sweetie and also very intelligent.

[karen israel]

Ridgebacks are AWESOME!!! They make a really cute "couple"!

[Albea]

Originally posted by Comatozed:
hi, i have a dog his name is anthony he is 4 months old, he is a golden retriever (in my opinion the best breed) anyway, when i pet him, it's like i almost see a smile on the side of his face. do dogs really smile?
Hi Comatozed!
I could not agree more with you about Golden Retrievers, they are wonderful.
If you want to see a great smiling Golden go to the Dog of the Day archives and look for July 13, 2000.She's my Golden girl http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif

[JKRJG24]

Originally posted by Sophies Daddy:
Since I am a shameless promoter of my wonderful little girl, you can see pictures of Sophie by clicking on this blue text (http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=253143&a=1881713) anytime you like!

How cute!!!!!!! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif

[JKRJG24]

Originally posted by MyBarney:
Hi

I've been lurking for a little while and I just wanted to introduce my smiling dog, Barney. Pictures of him are at http://users.cyberone.com.au/katieb/barney.html

I enjoy looking at dog of the day and reading your stories. All the best to you and your pets...

Katie


What a cutie!!! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif

[strawberry_puff13]

I know for sure that dogs smile http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gifWhen I come home, my little dog runs into the kitchen panting because he's tired from the running and has a big grin on his face http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif When ever he thinks I'm going to give him a treat that little grin appears!!

[Genia]

Sophie and Barney are both adorable. I love the look on Sophie's face as she looks at the pumpkin and Barney looks like he was born to live at the beach. I think both my dogs smile. Jeffrey (my basset/lab) has a "yeah, I ate your shoes, but ain't I cute" smile. My pug Bandit seems to smile with his huge eyes. When I come home I always feel so loved when they greet me at the door. Could it be that they really need to go for a walk and relieve themselves? http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif

[lhg0962]

That Sophie is precious! Loved the pictures.

[SwweettyPIE2000]

Originally posted by Smilla:
I really don't know. However, one day last summer, I was rounding the corner out of my apartment when I came across my neighbor's Golden. I returned his "smile" as I might smile back at a person. It was a source of great amusement to me a couple of seconds later when it hit me what I'd done.
I think dogs wink more than smile seriously

[karen israel]

Of course! I get winked at so often (even when I just get up!) I took it for granted and forgot! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif

[bushwack]

of course dogs smile. My black lab, Allie smiles when we come home from school.She is always happy to see us. She only smiles when she is excited like when she gets a bone. I definitely think dogs can smile