Dogs can tell angry and sad faces apart, study finds

Many dog owners testify to the animals' ability to read their owners' moods. Now, researchers at the University of Vienna have shown, in a study published in the journal iScience, that this appears to be true.

They showed 12 dogs pictures of people showing happiness, anger, fear and sadness, and analysed the dogs' brain activity with an MRI scan. The researchers saw clear differences in patterns of activity, which they say is the first evidence that dogs can distinguish between specific facial expressions.

“Humans are very good at perceiving small details in the face, and so are dogs,” says first author Raúl Hernández-Pérez.