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Is That “Smiling” Dog Happy?

Posted on May 30, 2014July 5, 2022 by

Maybe, but maybe not!

We humans tend to get warm and fuzzy feelings when we see dogs “smile.”

It’s true that some dogs’ mouths open in a cute smile when they are relaxed and happy. But a dog with his mouth open could alternatively be panting from pain, stress, or fear.

Can we tell the difference?

The following pairs of photos show my dogs stressed (left column) and relaxed (right column). The dogs have their mouths open in all the photos.

The usual disclaimers apply. When you run across someone’s still photo with no context, you can’t fairly make assumptions. It might have been taken during the millisecond in which a dog changed his expression. It could be misleading for a dozen other reasons. Videos are better, but we still miss context and may lack knowledge about the particular dog. But in this case I can vouch for the emotional states of my dogs, and I believe they are accurately represented by the photos with recognizable indicators.

Mind the Mouth

What all these photos have in common is a common “tell” regarding the dog’s emotional state. Look at the corners of the dogs’ mouths, also known as the commissures. In all cases, they are drawn back and stretched tight in the “stress” photos. In most of those photos you can also see the muscles bunched up in that area.

The photos have other indicators of the dogs’ emotional states as well. For instance, three of the stress photos have what is called a “spatulate” tongue, also usually connected with stress. The dogs’ eyes are markedly different between the stressed and relaxed photos as well.*

A tan dog with a black muzzle is shown facing forward. Her ears are pulled far back, the corners of her mouth are drawn back and the muscles in that area are bunched up. Her tongue is hanging out and is spatulate. She is stressed.

Clara stressed 1

A tan dog with a black muzzle is shown facing forward. She is making eye contact with the photographer. Her eyes are "soft." Her mouth is open in a relaxed manner. Her tongue is inside her mouth. She is "smiling." She is indeed relaxed.

Clara relaxed 1

A honey-colored dog is looking up at the photographer. Her ears are pulled back, her eyes are very round, and her mouth is open with the corners (commissures) drawn back. She is stressed.

Summer stressed

A honey-colored dog is looking forward at the photographer. She is wearing an American flag scarf. Her ears are relaxed, her mouth is open and relaxed, and her eyes are oval and soft. She is relaxed.

Summer relaxed

Clara stressed 2

Clara relaxed 2

Zani stressed

A black and rust, small hound dog is shown looking at the photographer with her head cocked and ears slightly raised. (The classic "beagle" look, although she is a mix. She is wearing and American flag scarf. Her mouth is open and her tongue is visible inside her mouth. She is relaxed.

Zani relaxed

I hope these comparison photos can help some folks figure out their own dogs’ facial expressions, and maybe overcome our wiring–which is very difficult–to assume that an open mouth means a happy dog. Please share this blog post wherever it might be useful. The photos may also be used for educational purposes if credit is given. I’d appreciate it if you would drop me a line through the sidebar contact telling me about the use.

You can see labeled versions of the “Clara stressed” photos (and many more) in my post Dog Facial Expressions: Stress. You also might be interested in my Dog Body Language Posts and Videos page.

Many thanks to Julie Hecht at Dog Spies for giving me the idea for this post.

*Patricia Tirrell points out that the dogs’ brows are furrowed in most of the “stressed” photos as well.

Shelter Pup “Smiles” from FEAR After She’s Adopted

Eileenanddogs on YouTube

Dog Facial Expressions: Stress

Posted on February 14, 2013December 16, 2022 by

You might want to compare this post with “Dog Facial Expressions: Can You See the Stress?” That post from 2022 features Lewis, who is showing stress in a different way.

From 2013.

Poor Clara had her yearly vet visit this past week. She is my feral dog, and although I have two socialization sessions with her every week and she is making great progress, I have not worked with her at the vet. Going to the vet is graduate school, and she’s just to 7th grade or so.

So what do you do when you have to put your dog in a situation for which they are not ready to be comfortable? What I did was take lots of food for distractions and get through it as fast as possible.

For Clara, getting shots or other procedures that cause a bit of pain is not the problem. Being in a building with other people and dogs in close proximity, and being handled and restrained by strangers is. This is by far the most frightened she has ever been at the vet’s, probably because Continue reading “Dog Facial Expressions: Stress”

Tag: panting

Is That “Smiling” Dog Happy?

Mind the Mouth

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Dog Facial Expressions: Stress