Is my Golden Retriever really smiling or just submissive grinning?

Question

Why do Golden Retrievers smile?

Christie Long, DVM · Accepted Answer

This is something called "submissive grinning." Golden Retrievers smile, but other breeds do It too - actually any dog can do it. It's thought to be an evolutionary behavior that's intended to show that the dog isn't a threat to people. It's suspected that we maybe inadvertently encouraged this behavior by getting excited when dogs do it ("Look! He's smiling!") so smart dogs (like Golden Retrievers) interpret this as they have pleased us, so they'll do it again and again. For more information about Golden Retrievers, I suggest you visit PetCoach's breed page: www.petcoach.co/breed/golden-retriever

Is my Golden Retriever really smiling or just submissive grinning?

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