A dachshund puppy has gone viral after her owner shared a clip of her “smiling.”
The footage was posted to TikTok by @livingwith2weens and begins with sausage dog Lily sitting on the sofa. The video then cuts to a snap of the pup playing on her back. Munching on a chew toy, the miniature dachshund appears to be grinning. The clip is captioned: “Dogs can’t smile.”
“Incorrect,” Lily’s owner wrote alongside the video, which has received over 270,000 views.
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Although livingwith2weens’s clip charmed people online, can dogs really smile? They can, according to Dr. Jeff Smith, medical director at Danville Family Vet, although it’s slightly different to how humans grin.
“Dogs can use a wide variety of facial expressions and learn how humans respond. Also, they can learn new behaviors and expressions from humans,” Smith told Newsweek.
As dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years, they’ve evolved ways to communicate with their owners—and lull them into submission. One example is “puppy dog eyes,” which are designed to manipulate humans into caring for their pets.
“When dogs are feeling joyful and content, they have a repertoire of delightful behaviors that can make you melt,” Smith said. He describes dog smiles as “a relaxed mouth, a slightly ajar jaw, and a tongue playfully hanging out.”
“While we can’t exactly call it a human-style smile, it’s their unique way of letting us know they’re feeling great and spreading their doggy happiness all around,” Smith added.
Leigh Siegfried, CEO and founder of Opportunity Barks, told Newsweek that she agrees that dogs can “absolutely smile.”
“When a dog has relaxed facial muscles, it can look like they’re beaming,” she said.
“But there is also a thing known as submissive grinning, which is when dogs show their teeth to say they’re sorry,” Siegfried added. For example, this happens when they’ve been caught going through the trash or pinching food off the kitchen counter.
The original poster adopted Lily in November 2022. Since then, the sausage dog’s antics have gone viral several times, earning her almost 800,000 followers on TikTok.
Dog lovers couldn’t enough of the joyful pup and her beaming grin, with Crystal Keyara writing: “This made me smile.”
“SHES SO CUTEEEEEEEEE,” posted @0nly.for.ren. “Adorable,” agreed Dogtrickheaven.
“My heart is melting,” commented Cookie. “I just want to hug [her],” wrote @001_293.
User @leo_the_spaniel2017 dubbed Lily the “the sweetest dashound ever.”
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