The charm of the puppy eyes, innocent or...? | Doo Care

1. If you are a dog owner, you too must have found yourself unable to resist treating pets that makes those irresistible pleading puppy eyes. I mean with an expression like that, who with a heart could deny this little pup a cuddle. You too must have wondered sometime whether your dog is actually trying to tell you something by giving you those big puppy eyes. A recent study conducted at the University of Portsmouth that involved a group of 24 different dog breeds from German Shepherds to Golden Retrievers to mongrels, all aged between 1 to 12, found out that they produced far more facial expressions when being watched by a human than being left alone or even exposed to dog treats.

2. These facial expressions include primarily the puppy dog eyes, scientifically described as the AU101 movement which is used actively whenever in presence of an audience. Well, a different team of researchers has recently found that our furry friends, by using that pout or making those big puppy eyes are really attempting to communicate with us. Also, the reason their eyes appear bigger is because of the way they raise their eyebrows whenever they are looked at. Researchers also claim that this unique expression learned by dogs is the result of years of domestication with humans. If this is true, then I am wondering how their behavior will evolve after living with humans for another 10,000 years or so. Although, researchers have no idea whether or not the dogs themselves are aware of the impact their ‘puppy eye’ expression have on humans. Maybe they are really that innocent... or maybe, they are doing it on purpose, having learned that widening their eyes and making it appear sadder elicits sympathy and affection in humans. What do you think?