Dogs deliberately give us 'puppy dog eyes' to get our attention

So cute – and so cunning

So cute – and so cunning

Dogs deliberately give us 'puppy dog eyes' to get our attention

So cute – and so cunning

Any pet owner will tell you that nothing can melt your heart faster than your furry little friend looking up at you with those mournful puppy dog eyes: "Yes, of course you can have some of my dinner," you think as you shower them with love.If you always assumed your pet was totally innocent and pure in all this, we have some news. They might actually be pulling those sad eyes deliberately to get your attention!According to researchers at Portsmouth University's Dog Cognition Center, dogs only adopt that oh-so-cute expression when they're around humans – and it's because they know exactly what they're doing. Research says they adopt sad eyes as a direct response to love and attention, as the Metro reports.Study leader Dr Juliane Kaminski said, "We can now be confident that the production of facial expressions made by dogs are dependent on the attention state of their audience and are not just a result of dogs being excited. In our study they produced far more expressions when someone was watching, but seeing food treats did not have the same effect."She added, "The findings appear to support evidence dogs are sensitive to humans' attention and that expressions are potentially active attempts to communicate, not simple emotional displays,"The team aren't sure whether dogs know they look sad, or if they've just worked out that pulling that particular expression will get them more attention – either way, the behavior has probably evolved naturally as part of dogs' domestication."Domestic dogs have a unique history – they have lived alongside humans for 30,000 years and during that time selection pressures seem to have acted on dogs' ability to communicate with us," added Dr Kaminski."We knew domestic dogs paid attention to how attentive a human is – in a previous study we found, for example, that dogs stole food more often when the human's eyes were closed or they had their back turned. This study moves forward what we understand about dog cognition. We now know dogs make more facial expressions when the human is paying attention," she concluded.

If you always assumed your pet was totally innocent and pure in all this, we have some news. They might actually be pulling those sad eyes deliberately to get your attention!

According to researchers at Portsmouth University's Dog Cognition Center, dogs only adopt that oh-so-cute expression when they're around humans – and it's because they know exactly what they're doing. Research says they adopt sad eyes as a direct response to love and attention, as reports.

Study leader Dr Juliane Kaminski said, "We can now be confident that the production of facial expressions made by dogs are dependent on the attention state of their audience and are not just a result of dogs being excited. In our study they produced far more expressions when someone was watching, but seeing food treats did not have the same effect."

She added, "The findings appear to support evidence and that expressions are potentially active attempts to communicate, not simple emotional displays,"

The team aren't sure whether dogs know they look sad, or if they've just worked out that pulling that particular expression will get them more attention – either way, the behavior has probably evolved naturally as part of .

"Domestic dogs have a unique history – they have lived alongside humans for 30,000 years and during that time selection pressures seem to have acted on dogs' ability to communicate with us," added Dr Kaminski.

"We knew domestic dogs paid attention to how attentive a human is – in a previous study we found, for example, that dogs stole food more often when the human's eyes were closed or they had their back turned. This study moves forward what we understand about dog cognition. We now know dogs make more facial expressions when the human is paying attention," she concluded.

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