The upper lip during the act
of grinning is retracted, as in snarling, so that the canines
are exposed, and the ears are drawn backwards; but the general
appearance of the animal clearly shows that anger is not felt.
Sir C. Bell[3] remarks "Dogs, in their expression of fondness,
have a slight eversion of the lips, and grin and sniff
amidst their gambols, in a way that resembles laughter."
Some persons speak of the grin as a smile, but if it had been
really a smile, we should see a similar, though more pronounced,
movement of the lips and ears, when dogs utter their bark of joy;
but this is not the case, although a bark of joy often follows a grin.
On the other hand, dogs, when playing with their comrades
or masters, almost always pretend to bite each other; and they
then retract, though not energetically, their lips and ears.
Hence I suspect that there is a tendency in some dogs,
whenever they feel lively pleasure combined with affection,
to act through habit and association on the same muscles,
as in playfully biting each other, or their masters' hands.
I have described, in the second chapter, the gait and
appearance of a dog when cheerful, and the marked antithesis
presented by the same animal when dejected and disappointed,
with his head, ears, body, tail, and chops drooping, and eyes dull.
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