Dogs have lost their ability to convey facial expressions compared with their wolf ancestors due to domestication, study says

Most dog owners will insist they can tell what their pooch is thinking from their face alone. But man's best friend used to be even more expressive, according to a new study. Researchers have discovered that the domestication process has resulted in the loss of some communication abilities in today's dogs compared to their wolf ancestors. The team, from Durham University, used a'Dog Facial Action Coding System' to analyse video recordings of captive wolves and domestic dogs. This was during both spontaneous social interactions and reactions to external stimuli, for example a squeaky toy.