Dogs Outsmart Other Animals In Selecting Smiling Owners
The results of a Japanese study led by researchers from Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture found that dogs can tell if a human is smiling or not. The results are most accurate when photographs of the dog’s actual owner are used.
In this study, five dogs (8 months to 6 years old) were shown two photos of their owners, one photo smiling and one not. After researchers trained the dogs to identify the smiling photos, the five dogs were able to choose the smiling photos with 82% accuracy. This rate fell slightly when the dogs were shown photos of unfamiliar faces. On average, the dogs correctly identified smiles on the faces of same sex (as their owner) strangers 78% of the time, and on the faces of opposite sex (as their owner) strangers 62% of the time.