Undoubtedly, smiling Golden Retriever can melt the hearts of people. And the family members feel more attached to the pet when it is smiling. But the smile of Golden Retrievers does not always indicate a kind and friendly gesture.
Do you know why Golden Retrievers smile? The Golden Retrievers smile when they feel relaxed, happy, excited, sad, or nervous. Besides this, these breeds also greet people or please others (animals or humans) by smiling.
Further, along with time, the Golden Retrievers evolved into the best family dogs and learned several expressions. Although most expressions are unnoticeable, expressions like a smile and grin are the most prominent ones.
What do you think are the expressions of the Golden Retrievers genuine?
What does their smile mean?
Do Golden Retrievers Show Expressions?
Since the Golden Retrievers understand the emotions of the owners, they reciprocate accordingly. Thus, these breeds do understand expressions. But can the dogs show their emotion?
Although the researchers believe that the Golden Retrievers shows around 100 expressions, most expressions are through ears. Therefore, they are harder to recognize.
Further, Golden Retrievers focus on hearing the message and eye contact while communicating with the humans instead of showing expressions. And the Golden Retrievers show facial expressions like smiles and grins more frequently.
Don’t you wonder about what would make Golden Retrievers smile?
7 Reasons Why Golden Retrievers Smile?
Verbal communication between Golden Retrievers and humans is impossible. So, these dogs use body language to show their feelings. Along with this, they also have some expressions like smiling. But do these breeds have a specific reason for smiling.
I guess whenever you see your Golden Retriever smiling, you might wonder what would be the reason behind it. Don’t you?
Here are some reasons for Golden Retrievers smile:
1. To Greet People
Golden Retrievers love the attention of people. Besides this, these breeds have a friendly and prominent nature. Thus, they feel attached to every person they meet.
Hence, the Golden Retrievers smile with a beautiful and relaxed grin when someone approaches them. Furthermore, the pet requires training and socialization to make them greet everyone with a smile.
2. When They Feel Relax
The Golden Retrievers smile when they feel relaxed. And the facial expression of their contentedness includes:
- Soft and squinted eyes
- Relaxed lips and mouth
- Loose facial muscles
- Droopy and settled ears
Besides this, the Golden Retrievers also show some body language that indicates they relax, like the quick wagging of the tail, comfortable body posture in their crate or couch, relaxed grin, and delightful and calm eyes.
3. During Stress And Tension
Sometimes the owners misinterpret the expression of the Golden Retriever. Thus, they may assume panting as a happy thing and showing teeth during panting as a smile. But sometimes, the dogs may pant due to stress or tension and show their teeth to warn others.
In addition to this, the Golden Retrievers may show the following signs that would denote they are unhappy and nervous:
- Tensed facial muscles
- Wide eyes showing the white part (whale-eyes)
- Stiff and tense limbs
- Pulled back neck far from the head
4. When They See Their Owner
Golden Retrievers love being around people. And the one who loves and cares for them more is the favorite person of Golden Retrievers. You can know whether your pet loves you or not after reading this article – 16 Ways To Know Your Golden Retriever Loves You.
Furthermore, if your pet likes you, it does everything to please you like- licking your face, hugging you, running around you, sitting in your lap, and smiling at you. When the Golden Retrievers see their favorite person or treats, they give a beautiful smile.
5. After They Receive Gifts
The Golden Retrievers love playing and eating. Hence, soft toys and foods are the best gifts for these breeds. The Golden Retrievers smile in excitement when they see toys, meals, or treats. Besides this, the dogs start wagging their tail back and forth, jumps and runs around you, and lick your face.
All these are happy signs that come along with their smile when Golden Retrievers are cheerful and excited after seeing the gifts.
6. To Please Others
When the Golden Retrievers see treats in your hand, they smile with a learned grin. And undoubtedly, this smile can melt anyone and please you to reward the pet. Apart from this, a soft smile with appealing eyes ensures everyone that the dogs are harmless.
Furthermore, the Golden Retrievers also smile when they see kids please them for playing. However, it is not a great idea to leave the dogs to play with your kids unsupervised. Thus, you can read this article for the safety of your kid.
7. When They Are Uncomfortable
The Golden Retrievers show unusual expressions when they are nervous and uncomfortable. Thus, the Golden Retrievers frequently opens and closes their mouth. And the owners assume this as a smiling gesture.
In addition to this, the Golden Retrievers shows the following signs when they are uncomfortable:
- Hiding
- Restless
- Loss of interest in eating
- Excessive barking
- Biting and chewing
- Avoid touch
- Yelping
Therefore, if your pet shows these signs, your pal is uncomfortable. Further, this may be due to various health issues like:
Furthermore, if you notice these signs in your pet, you must consult the Vet immediately.
How often do you visit the Vet?
Were you aware of the types of the smile before?
Three Types Of Smile Of Golden Retriever?
Due to the gentle and friendly temperament of the Golden Retrievers, they are the 4th most popular dog breeds in the USA. And I guess no one can deny or ignore this fact. If you supply all essential nutrients with food supplements, your pet will always be happy and smiling.
But do you know there are three different types of the smile of the Golden Retrievers?
If you are not familiar with them, you will know them in detail after reading this article.
First Type: Submissive Smile Of Golden Retrievers
Submissive behavior of the Golden Retrievers is the expression of showing their owners that they are ready to obey the commands or orders. Unlike in aggression, the dogs show all their teeth while giving a submissive smile.
Furthermore, the Golden Retrievers show that they trust and love their owners by smiling in this way. However, the owners may sometimes misread this smile as a warning sign. Thus, the body languages along with a submissive smile that tells the pet are ready to follow your order are:
- Low and relaxed body posture
- Upturned neck
- Relax and calm body movement
- Wagging of the tail
- Soft eyes
Generally, the submissive smile is the happiest smile of the Golden Retrievers. And it indicates that the dogs are happy and satisfied with their surroundings.
Second Type: Aggressive Smile Of Golden Retrievers
Since the Golden Retrievers are friendly dog breeds, their aggressive smile is not so frequent. And the dogs use this smile only when they feel insecure or nervous. Furthermore, the Golden Retrievers smile in aggression before attacking.
Besides these, the dogs also show the following sign during aggression:
- Barking and growling
- Intense staring with wide eyes
- Ears are away from their natural position
- Stiff and tensed body
- Freezes at the same place for long
Whenever you see such an expression in your pet, you can seek help from the animal behaviorist. And can use the following articles to calm the pet.:
- Why Is My Golden Retriever Aggressive? Identify And Fix It
- Why Is Your Golden Retriever Puppy Aggressive?
- How To Calm Your Golden Retriever
Third Type: Panting Smile Of Golden Retrievers
Since the Golden Retrievers are very active, they can run all day. Thus, this may result in panting. And the owners sometimes mistake panting as a smile.
Furthermore, the Golden Retrievers cannot sweat. So they pant instead. As the dogs hang their tongue outside their mouth during panting, the observer thinks of it as a happy and smiling gesture. Though some part of this statement is correct and the Golden Retrievers may pant due to happiness. Yet, there may be various other reasons for the panting smile of the Golden Retrievers. i.e.:
- Increase in body temperature
- Disease and illness
- The adverse effect of medications and treatments (birth control, corticosteroids, NSAIDs, etc.)
- Allergic reactions
- Anxiety and excitement
Which type of smile does your pet show more often?
What do you do when your pet shows an aggressive smile?
How Can You Teach Golden Retrievers To Smile?
Don’t you think the smile can be contagious? Whenever you see someone smiling at you, you smile back. Don’t you?
And see your pet smiling at you is more pleasing to experience. Thus, you can teach your pet to smile. Furthermore, since the Golden Retrievers are intelligent breeds, they can learn to smile at your command after little training.
For this, you can opt for the following steps:
- Observe the Golden Retrievers. And analyze the signs when they are about to smile.
- Generate the exact scenario when the Golden Retrievers smile more often.
- If your pet smile, positively reinforces it with treats, appraisal, and patting. And since treats spoil the health condition of the pet, use natural snacks for treats to promote a healthy life.
- Use some hand commands to order your pal to smile.
- Repeat the steps many times until your pet starts smiling in your command.
What do you think about these steps?
Do you have any other training methods?
Can Golden Retrievers Understand Our Smiles?
Although they have a language barrier between the owners, Golden Retrievers can understand expressions. Also, they know what the body language of their owner is indicating.
Hence, the dogs feel angry, sad, and nervous when you scold them. But when you love the dogs, they feel happy, excite, and friendly.
Furthermore, do your Golden Retriever licks, hugs, or sits in your lap when you are sad or nervous? Yes, doesn’t it? Thus, this fact suggests that the Golden Retrievers can feel the emotions.
In addition, this study also explains that the Golden Retrievers do understand human emotions like other dogs. And along with this, research on the response of dogs to human expression states that the Golden Retrievers shows the different behavioral response to different emotions.
Therefore, the Golden Retrievers do understand our smile. And if you train your pet, your pal will always reciprocate your smile by smiling at you.
What Is The Difference Between Humans And Golden Retrievers’ Smiles?
Although the Golden Retrievers fit perfectly in the family, there are several differences between the Golden Retriever and humans apart from body features. So, the owners cannot understand every emotion of their pet.
Hence, they interpret every facial expression as a smile. Like humans, the Golden Retrievers do smile when they are happy. But the smile of these breeds does not always indicate happiness and joy.
If your pet shows the teeth with an intense stare, it is a sign of aggression instead of happiness. Similarly, if your pet smiles with a natural grin, it suggests joy and relief.
Therefore, the smile of Golden Retrievers is not quite similar to the human smile. Humans most commonly smile in happiness. But these dog breeds show their teeth and curve their mouth in aggression, submission, and joy.
Does your Golden Retriever smile more often?
Does the grinning habit of your pet scare you sometimes?
Do Golden Retrievers Smile Indicate Warning?
Generally, the Golden Retrievers are very cheerful animals. Thus, you may often assume that it is natural for them to smile. However, sometimes the smile of these breeds does not indicate happiness or joy.
The smile with an unusual grin may be dangerous and harmful. So, when your pet shows this type of smile, ignore or avoid your pet. Besides this, the Golden Retriever may show the following signs with the grin when it wants to warn you:
- Bare teeth
- Frequent opening and closing of the mouth
- Challenging and intense eye contact
- Growling
- Stiff and tense body posture
- Continuous slow wagging of the tail
Does your pet show these signs?
What will you do when your pet shows the above signs?
Furthermore, misinterpretation of the smile may sometimes lead to fatal consequences? While playing with the kids, you may think the pet is smiling when your child pull, catch or steps of the tail of your pet. Thus, you might ignore it.
As a result, the Golden Retriever may bite your kid. Besides this, the mischievous smile of your pet can be a threat to your family. And may result in fatal situations sometimes.
Don’t you want a peaceful and healthy lifespan for your Golden Retrievers?
Do you think this article made you more familiar with your pet?
What is your view about the smile of dogs and this article?
Please share your suggestions.
