Canine Emotionality, What do you see?

Can everyone please reply and state how you think the dog feels in this photo and why you think the dog feels that way.

okay, I will play.

I think he feels annoyed. He's being held at his neck, as if to get him to look in the camera. He does not seem happy or excited by whoever is holding the camera. I think he just wants to get down on the ground and do his own thing and not be forced to pose.

That's my guess. :rotfl:

I think the dog is looking intently at something he is interested in and thinking "how can I hoodwink my owner into letting go so I can launch a sneak attack" - just speaking from my experience with Max. His trainer also calls it his "you know I'm just adorable and you want to give me a treat" look.

I think he feels worried & unsure.Only going on his eyes & slightly furrowed brow,ears back?

I think he looks scared/afraid...I'm going by his eyes and the 'look' on his face.

I think he's comfy enough and he's looking towards the camera with only moderate interest.

I think he realizes he forgot to update his anti-virus program and firewall on his computer.


In all seriousness, the tongue makes me believe he's not stressed or threatened. Our last dog's tongue looked like that all the time when he was relaxed.

I can't tell one way or the other from a head shot The dog seems to be held in an odd position though?

I think the dog is a bit anxious and unsure by the way the eyes are, like he does`nt want to be there.

I think he feels ok and is looking up at his owner maybe?

At first glance it looks like the dog is being throttled

Looks frightened but submissive to me because of his tongue poking out, possible because he is being held up away from something - another dog perhaps?

The Response / Result

I am going to post the entire photo now. It is a well know "trainers" dog of the whispering kind BUT so as not to get anyone into trouble I have blurred out certain parts.

It wasn't about the person. I just wanted to see how people felt when they saw this dog. I have many replies and your last comments as regards the helpless look is pretty much what the more experienced dog people said.

When I saw this in a magazine I just had this strange feeling in pit of stomach so I had to take a photo. I didn't know what I was taking a photo for or what I was going to do with it but I felt I wanted to share and get opinions later when I looked back on the photo. So then I thought I would share the photo and see what way others interpreted it.

IMO I feel same as Jaycee, Tripod and those of you who felt odd or uncomfortable when looking at the photo.

Thanks for the replies. Really appreciate them.

I have been asked to put a new pic on the Facebook everyday now for people to interpret! So if you are on FB connect up to me tara choules

i can see what you mean, but maybe we over-interpret, sometimes?

i would certainly look uncomfortable in a picture taken with flash, and the camera pointed at me without warning or explanation (from the dog's point of view). this would not mean that i am uncomfortable as such.:winkct:

pictures of dogs with their tongue poking out you can see lots in my album. frida does not like this eye (the camera) staring at her, and uses her tongue a lot.

I wasn't sure how to interpret either. The hand holding the dog doesn't look like it's using much force to keep the dog in place. The thumb is not around the neck but in front of it. To me, it looks like someone just called the dog's name and he/she looked and someone snapped the picture very quickly. I see no anxiety, but that's just me.

Great thanks for the input!