A dog's "smile" is often a bad sign (12 photos)

At first people are like: "Oh, what a cute dog, she's smiling at me! Let me pet you!" And then: "Call the animal abusers, Rospotrebnadzor and my mommy right now! This disgusting animal bit me!"





And all because most people don't understand dog behavior at all. They brazenly believe that absolutely any dog ​​is ready to be petted and cuddled 24/7. Especially if the furry one is smiling with all her 42 fangs - your hands just reach out to scratch behind the ear! But here's the surprise - a dog's smile means friendliness only 1 time out of 3.



Spoiler: if a dog smiles at you like this, it's best not to bother it.

The first version of a non-smile looks very cute! The corners of such dogs' lips are pulled almost to their ears, their ears are pressed back, their eyes are squinting, as if from genuine joy. This behavior is often confused with friendliness, because the animal doesn't seem to run away and sits quietly. As if it's just waiting for your hugs! But no, this facial expression screams that the dog is uncomfortable and doesn't want to communicate right now.





Don't judge a book by its cover, or a dog by its smile!

To understand this, pay attention to your pet's body. With such a "smile", the dog always keeps you in sight. Even turning its head away, it does not take its eyes off you: it turns out "whale eye" - when not only the iris is visible, but also the whites of the eyes. It breathes heavily, often licks its lips and yawns.



This is what a whale's eye looks like. Barbos is clearly uncomfortable.

If you don't leave the animal alone after demonstrating all the above gestures, it may move on to more radical actions. The calm ones will try to leave. The impudent, cowardly or angry ones will start growling and baring their teeth. If you still don't leave the dog, you definitely can't avoid bites.



Do you know where I got these scars from?

The second non-smile is just a way to cool down. The mouth is wide open, the corners of the lips are stretched but not tense, the tongue hangs out. Teeth may be visible, and drool may be dripping a little. The dog is resting, not trying to make a face at you and attract attention. If you approach such a calm and neutral animal with hugs, there will be two possible scenarios.



Expectation: vacation in a cool five-star hotel with a pool and the sea.

First - the animal will support your message and will actively continue contact, cuddle, offer its head for scratching, touch you with its paw and in every possible way demand continued affection. The second option, if the dog is too tired or simply does not want to interact now, such a calm non-smile will be replaced by a tense, tense pose, a stony muzzle, a whale eye, breathing will become even heavier, and everything will go according to the scenario already described above.



Reality: I spend my entire vacation bathing in a basin at the dacha.

And to avoid this, dog trainers advise following the 3-second rule. When you cuddle your dog, pet it, fool around and enjoy canine therapy, you need to step back from time to time and give the animal 3 seconds to think. If it is happy and wants to continue communicating, it will show it itself. But if the beast shows signs of tension, leave it alone.



To consolidate: on the left is a tense smile, on the right is a thermoregulatory smile.



A great example of a non-smile grin: the dog is uncomfortable, and soon this impudent gray puppy will be punished.

But can dogs really not smile at all? It turns out they can! Only their smile looks like a crocodile grin! The upper lip and nose are raised, so that all the front teeth and a little bit of fangs are visible. The eyes of such a smiling mongrel are shining and looking straight at the person - such a face looks very funny!



When mom made you smile in a group photo.

True, an ignorant person can easily confuse such a smile with a grin. There are several differences. Firstly, the back teeth in a real dog smile are always covered by the lips. Secondly, the dog wrinkles more than bares its teeth - that is, the nose of such a dog will be accordion-like, and the gums are bare. And thirdly, the ears of smiling dogs stand upright or are pulled back slightly. Whereas a dog that is not in the mood to communicate will have its ears pressed to its head.



A friendly smile-grin. Although it looks aggressive.

Foreign dog handlers call this expression a "submissive grin". In dog language, it means: "I will not harm you! I am very happy to see you and want to talk!" At the same time, the rest of the body also demonstrates joy: the tail wags madly, the animal can happily stamp or spin around you. And yes, here you can not only pet it, but you should!



The behavior and mood of the dog in all cases must be perceived in the context of the situation and the whole body. So all the information provided above is purely informational.