12 May Dog’s Smile – Reasons and Training

You have a long and hard day, and you drive home in a traffic jam. Thirty minutes later, you’re finally home. Then you will see the pure joyful eyes of your little furry friend getting closer and closer. Suddenly you are overwhelmed with joy, and stress is gone from you. Your look, which was once cold and hard, is now full of joy and happiness. Because dogs can experience emotional states, they may express them through emotional cues such as a smile. So dog’s smile is so important. It has a lot of reasons. But if your dog doesn’t smile, don’t worry. We will teach you how to train your dogs to do so.

Dog’s motions 

The limbic system controls emotions in the brain, responsible for various functions such as memory, motivation, behaviour and emotions. Mammalian brains are different in various species. For example, a human has a much more advanced neocortex than a dog. (The neocortex is an area of ​​the brain associated with higher-order thinking). In 2012, scientists at the University of Cambridge concluded that ‘neocortex deficiency doesn’t prevent animals from experiencing emotions. The same scientists stated that animals could show intentional behaviours due to similar nerve structures in their brains. So, dogs can smile!

Dog’s smile reasons

There are many reasons for a dog to smile, and their smile is usually situational. But in general, there’re several main reasons for dogs to smile:

Attract attention

Dogs love our attention. They love to show off and wait for an exciting response from us. When a dog smiles, our response is very happy for him, and he understands this happiness. He understands that we praise them for their smiles, sweetness and intimacy. Therefore, they love our positive answer and attention to themselves.

Happiness and enjoy the moments

Enjoying a smile is done by repeating treat and training. This principle is based on the fact that a dog will act as requested because of his favourite treats. For example, you ask your dog to sit down, and if he does what you want him to do, he will be rewarded and encouraged. This is done over and over again. Your dog now knows the result of the word ‘sit’; Therefore, he’s conditioned to do so. So your dog may smile because you have taught him.

Smile for owners or friends

Like humans, dogs may use smiles to search for their owners or friends. As a smile is considered a positive trait, a dog has learned to use the phrase in some way to express affection or to seek friendship. A dog basically uses a smile like a kind of communication to say ‘hello, everything is fine, you can approach me and play’.

Love hormones

Every time you look into your pet’s loving eyes, the amount of oxytocin (the hormone of love and attachment) rises. Oxytocin has been called the love hormone because we secrete these hormones when we hug, caress, and look at each other in love. This hormone will make the relationship stronger. According to research by Professor Otti Vino of the University of Helsinki in Finland, published in the journal Psychological Achievements, there’s a profound cycle of mutual love between humans and animals: It secretes more. Instead, it doubles his love for you, your dog’s indifference to external threats, and his refuge in your arms. Researchers measure the pupil size to find out how dogs feel.

Wider pupils indicate more stimulation. By injecting oxytocin into the dog’s nose, the scientists tested the size and direction of their gaze and performed it twice for each dog; One before receiving oxytocin and one after hormone inoculation. Dogs are fascinated by looking at smiling and cheerful humans when they receive this hormone.

Without hormones, dogs are more likely to react to angry and nervous faces, but the situation was different with the release of the hormone. As the author says, this hormone may make angry and depressed faces less important and smiling faces more attractive. Both of them will lead to more social dog’s behaviour. The professor says that both of these effects will improve and develop the romantic relationship between the dogs and their owners. “Oxytocin seems to affect what dogs see and experience,” said Sunny Sampi, a doctoral student and the first author of the paper.

Training the smile command to the dog

Training a dog to smile takes more time than other commands. The dog’s facial expression, which we know as a smile, isn’t actually a smile. It’s a gentle panting with a half-open mouth. The owner performs this behaviour while the animal is enjoying the situation, scratching his favourite place or immediately after the game.

First step:

Choose a time to train when your dog is happy: half-open mouth, tongue out, gentle panting. For example, after a game session or when your dog is stroking or scratching his body. Make treat ready, then hold the animal on both sides of the mouth with two fingers from above the head and gently pull it upwards to make it smile.

Second step:

Command in a happy voice (but in a repetitive and clear tone): Smile! And give a treat to the animal. Then caress and cheer. Repeat this step five times.

Third step:

Play with the animal’s favourite toy. At the end of the game session, give the command (smile!) And then encourage the animal with the treat. Don’t forget to cheer and caress.

Important tips:

• Always do this training immediately after the dog is playing, having fun and being happy. The happy state of the dog includes a half-open mouth, an outstretched tongue, and a gentle pant.
• Don’t push the animal to train. If you try for a while and the animal doesn’t obey your command, postpone the meeting. Excessive training repetition confuses the animal. Short training sessions, for 5 to 10 minutes and in a happy state after the game.
• While petting and scratching, find the animal’s favourite spot on his body: Some dogs love the point where his tail connects to the body at the top, the ear to the head, and below the chin. Scratch your dog’s favourite place, say the smile command and then give the prize. Gradually remove the scratch from the process.
• Give the prize only if the dog smiles.

Researches show that more than 70% of dog owners report that their dog has made them happier. Dog families are happier, calmer and even more active. Dogs actually smile or at least imitate our facial expressions to please us. A dog’s laughter begins with a smile, and it makes a gentle sound like panting. The most important reason for your dog to smile is you. So, when your dog smiles, he smiles to make you happy and feel warm inside you. Mishka Grooming accompanies you in all steps of grooming and training your dog. These furry creatures are so important to us, so we do our best to keep them healthy and energetic.