MESSERLI RESEARCH INSTITUTE, ANJULI BARBER
Just half of a human face is enough for dogs to tell the difference between a happy and an angry expression, according to a study published this week (February 12) in Current Biology.
Researchers at the Messerli Research Institute of the University Veterinary Medicine Vienna in Austria showed 18 dogs either the top or bottom half of two human faces on a computer screen and trained the animals to recognize either happiness or anger by rewarding them with food for touching the appropriate face with their noses. Nine border collies, one fox terrier, and one sheltie did well enough in training to undergo further testing. In the tests, the dogs had to identify the same expression in the other half of the training face, the ...
