If IHasAHotdog is any indication, dogs display a variety of facial expressions. However, surveys of LOLanimals aren't necessarily scientific (though they can be), so these researchers took a more controlled approach by testing whether people can recognize different facial expressions on the same dog's face. How did they get the dog to make different expressions? Read on for a few of their LOL-worthy methods...
Classifying dogs’ (Canis familiaris) facial expressions from photographs
"Humans accurately read other humans’ emotional facial expressions. Little research was found examining human ability to read dogs’ expressions. Cross-species research extended facial expression research to chimpanzees, and there is much research on dogs’ auditory signaling to humans. To explore humans’ ability to identify dogs’ facial displays, photographs of a dog's face were taken under behaviorally defined conditions expected to elicit specific emotions. Dog experts consistently rated these photographs. The photographs rated as best by experts were used ...
