My Favorite Dog Facial Expressions

Dogs are renowned masters of body language. Be it wagging tails or raised hackles, dog body language is easy to spot if you know what to look for. Pups also have incredible facial expressions, but they’re often tougher to spot or fleeting in duration. That’s why I love looking back through photos to catch facial subtleties I missed the first time around. It’s a rain soaked day here in Chicago so I decided to review some end-of-summer photos from the beach. 

I call this one “the surveyor.” Eko’s default face as he looks over the beach

Eko’s “ohmygoshyouaresoannoying” exasperated face comes up when Penny won’t stop bugging him

I love how this photo captures both Penny’s exuberance and the other dog’s uncertainty about the nutjob on his left

The shared excitement on their faces here is great. The pose would be perfect for the poster of a buddy-cop flick

And when it comes to dog facial expressions, the crazier the tongue, the happier the pup!

An exhausted pup is a happy pup

The exact moment at which Penny realized she may have tried to turn on a bit too steep of an angle

Even from the side, a pup’s face can say it all. Can’t you just hear Penny politely begging for a treat?

The pups got in a good run yesterday, so their faces will remain happily buried in the blankets on the couch through the storm. My legs are still a bit sore from Sunday’s race so that plan suits me just fine and makes this made-for-radio face of mine smile!