Do cats and dogs actually feel affection when you treat them right or is it really just an instinct for “more food and drink” etc?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen dogs, cats and other domestic animals smile because they’re happy and show love to their owners for treating them right.

Yeah I see memes but those are either photoshopped or snapped at the perfect moment to make it look like they’re smiling.

  • NeoNachtwaechter@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen dogs, cats and other domestic animals smile because they’re happy

    The dog wags it’s tail to show happiness/excitement. Come on, have you never heard about that?

    “Smiling” = showing the teeth would indicate a threat of aggression.

    • illi@lemm.ee
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      1 month ago

      It’s not only barring teeth, dogs also do a “submissive smile” in some cases, to show they are not a threat. Not seen much but when we got our second dog she was very insecure and “smiled” a lot. Definitely not for showing happines but I think I read our smiles have similar origins.