Have you looked at your dog when he/she wants something and asked yourself, "How can I resist those puppy-dog eyes?!"
Well, there is new research to suggest that your dog has developed those puppy-dog eyes over fourteen thousand years to communicate with you better. This research team from the University of Portmouth led by Dr Kaminski say: "The evidence is compelling that dogs developed a muscle to raise the inner eyebrow after they were domesticated from wolves." This team of researchers has studied the muscular system of wolves and dogs and found that the facial muscles is where the difference is found. The heightened raised eyebrows, which dogs are capable of, and wolves lack, is thought to elicit a caring response from us.
He also reports that, "We also studied dogs' and wolves' behavior, and when exposed to a human for two minutes, dogs raised their inner eyebrows more and at higher intensities than wolves.
Something to think about when your dog looks longingly at you with those puppy-dog eyes. Maybe you're just falling for his evolved facial muscles.