Boarding and daycare personnel often spend as much or more time with pets than their owners. These persons focus on animal-to-animal interactions and behaviors routinely. However, but it is also important that we understand how dogs communicate with people.
Linked below is a research paper that evaluates the impact of facial phenotypes on communication between humans and canines. The study explores how facial markings, such as eyebrows, patches and widow’s peaks are related to expressiveness toward humans including human biases.
. . . humans tend to be more accurate at judging the expressivity of dogs with plainer faces.”
Source: animals, MDPI, July 22, 2023. Link. The researchers found that dogs with plainer faces (fewer markings and/or colors) appear to be more behaviorally expressive in objective measures. Among the age groups, adult dogs are more expressive than senior dogs, and dogs that are highly skilled are more expressive than those who have had no training or working experience.
INSIGHTS: Animal health pros need not shy away from papers like this one. Consider reading the abstract and conclusions to determine if you wish to dig deeper into the study.