logo logo logo logo
  • Allotments
    • An Introduction
    • Calendar: January
  • Home and Garden
    • Travel Guides
    • Staycation Guide
  • Money Saving
    • Referral Offers
    • Getting a Credit Card
    • Card Protection
    • Travel Insurance Tips
    • Travel Money Tips
    • Guide to Airmiles
    • £5 free with Curve
    • Train Tickets
    • Music Magpie
    • Win £50 Voucher
  • Pets
    • Top Dog Walks
    • Dog Walking Tips
    • Camping
    • Hot Weather
    • Going to the EU?
    • Professional Dog Walkers
    • Dogs Welcome
  • Walks
  • 'Puppy Dog Eyes'

    Centuries of domestication have unintentionally changed your dogs eyebrow anatomy, making their faces easily readable to people.

    Scroll Down

'Puppy Dog Eyes'

The Dog Blog General Posts 19.06.2019

Centuries of domestication have unintentionally changed your dogs eyebrow anatomy, making their faces easily readable to people, a new study says.

When your dog looks up at you, they will often raise their inner eyebrow muscle to make their eyes look larger and more appealing.

The research compared the anatomy and behaviour of dogs and wolves, allowing a comparison between the two, showing dogs facial anatomy had changed over many thousands of years to allow for better communication with humans. The study found that whilst the facial muscles of both dogs and wolves was similar, the muscles around the eyes differed. Dogs have a small muscle, enabling them to intensely raise their inner eyebrow, while wolves do not have this.

It is suggested by the authors of the paper that the raising of the inner eyebrow triggers a nurturing response in humans because it makes the dogs eyes look to be larger and resultingly more infant like, whilst also closely resembling a movement produced by humans when they experience sadness.

The research team was led by comparative psychologist Dr Juliane Kaminski at the University of Portsmouth, and included a team of behavioural and anatomical experts in the UK and USA. The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

Journal reference:

Kaminski, J., Waller, B. M., Diogo, R., Hartstone-Rose, A., and Burrows, A. M. (2019) Evolution of facial muscle anatomy in dogs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1820653116.

Our Affiliate Partners

North Face
client logo
Berghaus
Ordnance Survey
Jack Wolfskin UK
AATU
Home & Garden
  • Latest
  • Allotments
  • Home & Garden
  • Money Saving
  • Pets
Dog Walks Near Me
  • Find dog walks across the UK
  • About Us
  • Sticker Competition
    (win £50)
Top Walk Areas
  • Peak District National Park
  • Lake District National Park
  • Cornwall Region
  • South East Region
Dogs Welcome
  • Find dog friendly businesses
    across the UK

  • Contact Us
    • Email
© A Dog Walks Near Me Blog | Cookie & Privacy Policy