Guest Post by Agnes Swic!
Does your dog smile? Our Emma “smiles” when she is posing in front of the camera. Also, Albert, our black Labrador retriever, smiles when he is playing or when we come home. I often wonder at how “human” sometimes dogs behave. Some behaviorists state that “the doggie equivalent of a smile is a bouncy body, a loose tail wag, and a facial expression with soft eyes and a relaxed mouth and ears.”
This week, we have a special guest, Agnes Swic. Agnes is an animal behaviorist, and she will be answering the question of whether dogs can laugh or not.
Do dogs laugh?
Laughter: we all do it (some more than others); we all enjoy it, and we all can recognize that joyful, high pitched sound. That is, as long as we are talking about humans of course.
What about dogs then? We all know that our pets can be happy, enthusiastic or playful, right? Some of us even claim that our beloved animals smile when they see us coming back from work. However, did you know that they can also laugh? Well, they can, and they do! Moreover, it’s far more beneficial than it seems at first glance.
When dogs play, they bark, growl, whine and laugh. And yes, they smile as well! When they want to initiate a friendly contact or to confirm their intentions, they open mouth with this one of a kind play-face. The same with laughter – along with dog bows and play-faces are their invitation to play. Dogs use laugh both in solitary (e.g., when a dog tosses an object into the air and animate it) and social play; it is a well-known calming signal to other dogs emphasizing non-hostile motives.
What is the sound of a dog laugh?
The sound is usually described as something similar to regular dog panting “hhuh, uhhh, hhah, hhah,” but the range of frequencies is much broader. Some of the sounds are even too high for us to hear!
Apart from the social aspect, like appreciating a good dog-joke, dog laughter performs essential functions such as stress relief and adjustment of emotions. It also helps in dealing with tensions and many more. We know for a fact that laughter is good for our physical and mental health and it is the same with our dogs!
Quite simple, huh?
Can dog laugh have a positive effect on dogs?
Dog laugh can help dogs in shelters get adopted! A study shows that using dog laughter can be beneficial in a quite unusual way. Shelter dogs are exposed to a lot of stressful situations which influence their lives and health. They express the tension through barking, growling, lunging, pacing, and avoidance. They might not appear so friendly or even seem hostile in such an environment. Because of that kind of behavior, some dogs remain in shelters way longer – nobody wants to take home an aggressive dog, right?
A study shows that playing recordings of a joyful dog laugh can drastically change the behavior of animals in shelters! After six weeks of an experiment conducted in Washington, during which the dogs were exposed to the sounds of dog laughter, the results were stunning! Dogs social behavior improved significantly. They were more willing to approach the front of the kennel, display play-bows and dog laugh themselves, and most of them responded with increased tail waving combined with a calm attitude towards the visitors. Now, that’s how you find a new home!
It is clear that dog laugh is a significant part of their social engagement and being aware of it can help us to understand and interact with our pets better. If you want to learn more about dog communication, body language, and calming signals check out Agnes’ website Thrown to the Dogs!
No Comments