Your Dog Doesn't Want Just Your Food He Wants Your Attention

[Judi Lynn]

By Samantha Mathewson, Live Science Contributor | October 19, 2017 11:20am ET

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Credit: Monika Chodak/Shutterstock


Your dog may be trying to tell you something. From an inquisitive head tilt to "puppy dog eyes," the expressions of our canine companions may be their attempts to communicate, a new study finds.

In the study, researchers examined how dogs' facial expressions changed in response to human attention or other stimuli, such as food. Previous research has suggested that animal facial expressions are often considered to be involuntary and dependent on the animal's emotion.

But the new study shows that this may not be the case, at least when it comes to domestic dogs, which appear to be acutely aware of when a human is paying attention to them. Indeed, the researchers found that the dogs produced significantly more facial movements when a human was attentive, compared with when humans ignored them. [10 Things You Didn't Know About Dogs]

"The findings appear to support evidence [that] dogs are sensitive to humans' attention and that [their] expressions are potentially active attempts to communicate, not simple emotional displays," lead study author Juliane Kaminski, a senior lecturer in psychology and leader of the Dog Cognition Centre at the University of Portsmouth in England, said in a statement.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/60722-dogs-communicate-facial-expressions.html?utm_source=notification

[TomSlick]

1. Well, duh!

They could have just asked anyone who lives with dogs.

[Laffy Kat]

2. I know!

They perform all these expensive fMRIs to see what parts of their doggo brains light up when they see/hear their people and all you really have to do is share your life with one to know.

[shenmue]

4. Woof

[Duppers]

3. Exactly what I was thinking when reading this.

We know.

Perhaps some insensitive assholes who chain their dogs outside haven't a clue.

[lunamagica]

5. Was a study needed for this? Anyone who has owned a dog knew it without any "study"

[Laffy Kat]

6. Maybe it's just a way for scientists to bring their dogs to work!

[lunamagica]

7. Hey, I like that idea! I know I would do it...Imagine me, gettig paid to "study" my doggie

[BigmanPigman]

8. I was at the vet's two weeks ago and brought Time mag along with me.

Last edited Fri Oct 20, 2017, 01:28 AM - Edit history (1)

While I was waiting I read a similar article about a "groundbreaking" study.