Your data on MRCVSonline
The nature of the services provided by Vision Media means that we might obtain certain information about you.
Please read our Data Protection and Privacy Policy for details.

In addition, (with your consent) some parts of our website may store a 'cookie' in your browser for the purposes of
functionality or performance monitoring.
Click here to manage your settings.
If you would like to forward this story on to a friend, simply fill in the form below and click send.

Your friend's email:
Your email:
Your name:
 
 
Send Cancel

‘Dogs alter faces when humans are looking’ - study
While dogs made far more facial expressions when humans were watching, being offered food did not produce the same effect.
Research suggests dogs use facial expressions to communicate 

Dogs produce more facial expressions when humans are looking, according to new research.

Scientists from the University of Portsmouth’s Dog Cognition Centre, say they have found the first clear evidence that dogs alter their faces in response to human attention.

Most mammals use facial expressions but it has long been assumed that this is involuntary in animals - dependent on the individual’s emotional state, and not used in response to an audience.

Lead author Dr Juliane Kaminski said it is possible that dogs’ facial expressions have changed as a result of domestication.

Researchers observed 24 family dogs of various breeds, aged one to 12. They were kept on a lead about a metre away from a person, who displayed a range of behaviours, such as facing the dog, being distracted, and facing away from the dog.

The dogs’ facial expressions were monitored using DogFACS, an anatomically-based coding system that captures movements from the canine face muscles. Brow raising, which makes the eyes look bigger (otherwise known as ‘puppy dog eyes’), was the most commonly used expression in the study.

Researchers found that while dogs made far more facial expressions when humans were watching, being offered food did not produce the same effect, suggesting dogs use facial expressions to communicate, not just because they are excited. This is the first time scientists have systematically examined dog facial expressions that are used to communicate with humans.

The team say it is not yet possible to determine if dogs actually have an understanding of human perspective, or whether this is a hardwired or learned response.

Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history

Pet Blood Bank announces twists to annual fundraiser

News Story 1
 Pet Blood Bank has revealed that its annual fundraiser, 'Around the Coast in 30 Days', will now include mini challenges.

It is the fourth year of the challenge, which asks people to walk, run, swim or cycle a part of a 11,232 mile goal.

However this year's fundraiser, starting 1 May, includes extra challenges throughout the month. Pet Blood Bank says these tasks will showcase its work.

The challenge can be completed individually, or as a team, with miles recorded on the participant's fundraising page.

Register here

Click here for more...
News Shorts
SCOPS updates anthelmintics guide

The Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep (SCOPS) group has published an updated version of its free guide to anthelmintics.

Know Your Anthelmintics, created to help farmers and livestock keepers, lists the available products for treating internal and external parasites in sheep and gives advice on how they should be administered. This includes guidance on drenching and injecting correctly and minimising the impact that anthelmintics have on the environment.

The new version contains information about products released in recent months and changes to older products.

Kevin Harrison, sheep farmer and SCOPS chair, said: "I can't count the times I've used the SCOPS Know Your Anthelmintics guide when making decisions about my flock, to remind myself which group a wormer belongs to or check other details."

The guide is available on the SCOPS website.