Dogs need a stream of active facial expressions to keep them focused on a person
By Stanley Coren, PhD, DSc, FRSC
According to some new research, your face may be the key to building a better bond with your dog. When we are trying to communicate with someone, the human face undergoes a number of changes in expression which help to clarify what we are feeling and the emotions that we are undergoing during that interaction. If a person’s face is passive and unresponsive, this violates the rules of normal communication, and the individual observing the passive face may interpret it as a personal rejection and respond with a surge of negative emotion.