The dog recognizes the smile

New research in Japan shows that dogs can recognize smiling faces, which researchers think may have helped dogs live with humans, according to Top News .

>>> 10 most exotic dogs on the planet

Experts at Azabu University noted dogs can also learn to distinguish a smile, even on the faces of some strangers.

The research team chaired by Miho Nagasawa has trained 9 dogs using their master images. Some photos show when the owners are smiling and others describe their normal expressions.

Trained dogs touch their noses on photos that their owners are laughing at. Only 5 out of 9 dogs can do this. These dogs were then shown pairs of laughter and normal expressions of strangers and their owners.

When viewed as pairs of either their owners or a stranger having the same gender as their owners, dogs often choose smiles more than expected if they choose only one picture randomly .

' This study shows that dogs living close to humans are also capable of recognizing positive facial expressions , which means these dogs have learned useful social skills to survive. . The ability to learn how to distinguish human facial expressions may have helped dogs adapt to human society , 'the team concluded.

Research published in Animal Cognition issue in July .