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!

[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. (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!