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The research, just released in the Journal of Neuroscience, involved dogs being trained to sit inside a modified MRI machine while videos of the front or back of human heads were shown on a screen in front of them. While human’s brain’s reacted differently depending on whether they saw a face, dog’s apparently didn’t.
But here’s the thing. Not only were the faces being shown not familiar to the dogs involved, but showing them on a screen directly in front means the many dogs that are near and far-sighted would have had trouble actually seeing the difference.
The study also ignores one key factor. Dogs respond to us as a package deal. And this is why they’re such great judges of character. It’s not so much about our facial expression or beauty as it is our warm, friendly voice, our kind, gentle body language and even yes, our fear free scent.
So even if they’re not fixated on our face, relax. They’re just focused on the stuff that really counts...
