Are Dachshunds Purposefully Employing Their Distinctive Look?

Woofed! When a dog wants something, it tilts its head to one side and makes their mistresses or masters melt with their googly eyed. It is hard for dog owners to ignore the dachshund-like look. Do the four-legged pals do it deliberately?

Some mistresses and masters have already guessed that dogs deliberately use the dachshund-like look. Scientists from the University of Portsmouth confirmed that this theory was correct, and that dogs do use facial expressions to communicate.

Experimentation: dogs exposed to various situations

Researchers under the direction and supervision of Juliane Kaminski, a biologist, conducted experiments on 24 dogs from different races.

Four different situations were presented to the four-legged friend. In one case, the humans turned their backs on the dogs with or without food. On another occasion, they turned away from them, both with and sans treats. Researchers used a camera to record the facial expressions on the furry noses in each situation. What conclusion did the researchers reach?

Dachshund Look – A result of Evolution?

When humans payed them direct attention, dogs showed more facial expressions. It was not important whether or not the human held a tasty treat. Scientists conclude that animals deliberately tried to communicate through facial expressions.

Animals can display facial expressions. It was believed that the dog’s expression was a non-intentional expression of emotion and not a deliberate attempt to communicate. Scientists believe that the intentional use of a dachshund-like look is an evolution result of dogs and humans living together for a long time.

Researchers led by Juliane Kaminski, a biologist, cannot be certain that dogs understand their counterparts.