Here’s Looking At You, Kid

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148 – November/December, 2024

By Chris Robinson

In the 1942 classic film Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart ad-libbed this article’s title line during the filming of the flashback scenes of Rick (Bogart) and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) falling in love in Paris. Dogs also look at us when they want to show us their love or, conversely, when they want us to leave them alone. But, those are just part of the wide range of facial expressions dogs use to tell us, “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

While dogs also “talk”–bark, whine, growl, snarl–to us, their first line of communication is their facial expression and their body language. Sometimes these expressions are not easy for we humans to properly interpret. So, we turn to “experts” (who else?) for a bit of insight. But, even those who have studied dog expressions for many years and in some cases authored peer-review studies on the topic admit they don’t completely understand all the different facial expressions that dogs use for communication.

Let’s start with one of the most common dog facial expressions, the smile. When my dogs smile at me, I know they are either happy or they are “apologizing” for some “crime” they’ve committed. It’s easy to tell the difference with my breeds. If their ears are relaxed coupled with the smile, they’re happy. If their ears are down and slightly curled out, they’ve done something they know will cause me to be displeased, if not downright furious, and they’re trying to deflect or lessen some of the consequences.

Click here to read the complete article
148 – November/December, 2024

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=309714

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