ScienceBrain scans suggest dogs can distinguish fearful, angry and sad human faces

Researchers examined how dogs’ brains responded when they were shown images of different human facial expressions. The findings suggest that dogs can tell apart several kinds of unhappy faces, including fearful, angry and sad ones. Laura Cuaya, a study co-author from the University of Vienna, said earlier behavioural work had shown that dogs could recognise some human expressions. However, those studies generally compared only two faces at once—one positive and one negative—leaving it uncertain whether dogs could distinguish among different happy or unhappy expressions.

dogsfacial expressionsbrain scansanimal cognition

TThe Guardian★★☆☆☆2026-08-10 15:00Original