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Does your dog smile at you? - Printable Version

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Does your dog smile at you? - shopgirl - 08-22-2013

I was just wondering how many of y'all have dogs that smile at you? I've got 2 Yorkies, a boy named Peanut and a girl named Prissy. Peanut rarely smiles at me. Every now and then when he has to go outside and he is trying to get my attention, if I ask him (in a baby talk voice of course) "What is it, Peanut? Do you need to go outside?" He will get really excited, start running around and almost nod his head up and down. He will look up at me and smile a little. He doesn't have a big cheesy smile, he typically will only show one tooth. He kinda looks like he is doing an Elvis lip curl. HA HA!

Prissy, on the other hand, smiles at me all the time. Every morning when I wake up, I wake up to her staring me right in the face. The split second that she sees just a little movement out of me when I am trying to wake up and she sees the first little flutter of my eyes opening, I am greeted with a full set of pearly whites cheesing at me right in my face. She gets so excited that I am awake that she gives me kisses.

She also smiles when she is getting in trouble, therefore making it hard to be mean to her. If I say "NO!" or "BAD DOG!" she shakes her head up and down really fast like she is nodding while smiling the whole time and makes a snorting like sound. Who can be upset with that?

I wish that I could get a picture or a video of this. It is so cute!


RE: Does your dog smile at you? - intothebleach - 08-22-2013

Lol, Yes my boy Carling does smile. He is a happy dog (unless you have to tell him off) and when he smiles he gets like dimples by his mouth which is so lovely. He knows when he has been naughty because he gives you the puppy eyes and hangs his head. The other day he pinched something off the kitchen work surface and had a good telling off, I asked him to say sorry and he hung his head and did a little wimpy bark, he is 45KG of dog! I have lots of conversations with my two, I get a better feedback lol


RE: Does your dog smile at you? - mommy42 - 08-23-2013

Oh, my gosh! So funny that you asked this! My daughter swears that our mini schnauzer smiles at us. Or sometimes even smirks!!!

When he pants he really looks like he is smiling too! I just find it so funny that pets can seem to have facial expressions! But they sure seem too!!

He gets treats after we give him insulin and I think he is smiling while he is waiting to get his favorite treat - carrots!!!! He just goes crazy for them! I think he likes them more than anyone else in the house - well, except for my husband!


RE: Does your dog smile at you? - Coricopat - 08-23-2013

Aww, that's adorable!

One of my parents' dogs has a big smile. She'll be panting with her mouth wide open, but when she sees me, she draws the corners back even further and comes running up with her tail wagging. She has a very long nose and wide mouth, so seeing her pull her lips back and her cheeks wrinkle with dimples (as intothebleach's Carling) is very funny.

My chihuahua also does an "Elvis lip curl" occasionally. He does it mostly when he's feeling playful. He'll toss a ball at me or bark to get my attention and then keep one of his chops up, showing a few of his teeth on one side. He also seems to smile with his mouth closed, simply pulling his mouth back and putting his ears up, as though he's quietly laughing at me!

There's also something called the submissive grin, in which dogs will expose their teeth or "smile."

Quote:Some dogs show a “submissive grin” when they’re feeling extremely submissive. They pull their lips up vertically and display their front teeth (canines and incisors). This signal is almost always accompanied by an overall submissive body posture, such as a lowered head, yelping or whining, and squinty eyes. Only some dogs “grin” this way. People sometimes mistakenly think a dog is being aggressive when, in fact, he’s grinning submissively and trying to communicate the exact opposite of aggression.



RE: Does your dog smile at you? - ohiotom76 - 08-23-2013

Yes, my dogs would smile at us, especially our beagle. But even more than just smiling we could usually tell if they were happy by the inflection in their barking and howling. They would always put on the cheese grin when they thought they could score some table food from us.

My coonhound though also had another habit where it might look like she was smiling, but she was actually threatening to bite you. She would start "flashing her teeth" and sticking her tongue out if you were irritating her in some way. Usually we got this attitude from her if we tried to kick her off of our bed.


RE: Does your dog smile at you? - mommy42 - 08-24-2013

Funny! Our neighbors dog used to look like she was growling because her lips would go back and her teeth would come out. But her tail would wag the whole time! It was quite funny once you found out that she wasn't growling or going to bite you. Instead she just had this quirk that made her look mean when she really was happy and just wanted you to pet her.

She died a while ago but I still remember the funny "grin" she had! My kids were afraid of her back then. But, they were still quite young so they were sure she was mean. ;-)

I love how dogs seem to use their charm to get us to do their bidding! But who can resist that?! Especially when they are so excited to see us or love on us!!! Smile


RE: Does your dog smile at you? - shopgirl - 08-24-2013

I love seeing dogs smile. It is so cute! My Yorkie, Prissy, the one who smiles ALL the time, will even smile at my other Yorkie Peanut. She bounces all around him and jumps on him just trying to get him to play. She will extend her paw out and pat him on the head like she is trying to get his attention! He is so grouchy and grumpy the majority of the time that he does not want to play or be messed with. His response to her is growling but this only makes her bother him even more. He will growl his meanest growl and she will get all up in his face and smile her biggest smile at him. I wish I could read his mind or wish he could talk because I'm pretty sure he is cussing her out! It is so funny! Love watching them together.


RE: Does your dog smile at you? - cliverederson - 09-17-2013

Haha, I love reading the descriptions of your dogs' faces! I totally know what you guys mean! It doesn't really seem to be like dogs would have the ability to smile, but they do! I don't think it stops at smiling either, you can see a lot of emotion on their faces from time to time. Once again, this goes back to dogs evolving/learning alongside humans for thousands of years, so it doesn't entirely surprise me whenever I see things dogs do that pleases or even kind of takes-after humans. I think dogs are the most amazing pets because they're so harmoniously tied in with humans. Sorry cat owners, but most cats just aren't on the same level.


RE: Does your dog smile at you? - TimmyH6 - 10-01-2013

Yes, she does! My Sheppard Beagle Sugar smiles at me all of the time. She got that from her mother Spunky. When Spunky was alive she smiled like no other beagle that I have ever seen, especially after she had been for her walk. When the two of them were together and playing out in the yard, they both had big smiles on their faces.

Puppies smile too. Spunky had three litters and I can remember how happy they looked while running out in our yard or in one of the fields on the farm. It was so funny watching them wrestle with each other and ending up in one big scrum. One of the reasons why I had to have Spunky spayed was, because I would become more and more attached to each litter and it became harder to give them away.

I pet sit from time to time. One of the homes has brother and sister Pugs and they smile a lot. The owners say that I spoil them while they are away and I deny it, but we do enjoy each others company. They like to challenge my authority from time to time and I always know it from the silly grins on their faces.

Yes, dogs smile and it is a sight to see!


RE: Does your dog smile at you? - Happyflowerlady - 10-02-2013

I have never had a dog that smiled, but I have seen other people's dog smiling, and I think that it is totally awesome when they do this.
Shopgirl, I can just imagine your little Yorkie smiling at you ! Chipper, my Yorkiepoo, does have his little things that he does. When we are going to eat something that he wants bites of, and he is trying to get our attention, he will sit I and then kind of "squeaky-talk " to be sure we know that he is there and wants a bite.
If we still don't feed him, then he goes into his "praying routine", where he puts his paws along side of his nose with his head tipped down , for all the world as if he were saying grace for his meal.
After that show of attention, we always have to at least give him his little taste.


RE: Does your dog smile at you? - Miranda Boldari - 11-09-2013

Sure, and the sly guy knows he only has to flash one and he can get around me on practically anything. He wants an extra chicken leg, flash!, he wants to go out more than his share of the day, flash!, he wants to play ball at six in the morning, flash! flash! flash!!!

Somehow he knows that his smile brings out one of my own and sometimes he just cuddles in my lap and gives me a grin, knowing very well that it would make me grin as well.


RE: Does your dog smile at you? - tierapatt50 - 12-08-2013

I would like to believe that my dog smiles at me and it certainly does look like it from time to time. I have a very happy, energetic and friendly puppy so I do think she smiles at me and everyone else who she meets (because she is so friendly that everybody she comes into contact with she instantly loves).