![A separate study concluded that dogs who displayed this expression were more likely to get re-homed from a shelter. AFP](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/JSTZZQAAVG5GZ4INNALW4RBOWU.jpg?smart=true&auth=19e3e0dfafd3f4e3989174fbebfe1b749d9a47efd94d6dbfa95071f335aeb9a5&width=400&height=225)
![A study suggests that over thousands of years of dog domestication, people preferred dogs that could pull off the ”puppy dog" eyes look. AP photo](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/PLN6S6OF6TRJAZEWCCYZYRF7WM.jpg?smart=true&auth=56df73368d2ffa6050a6f5c724f12c529d386b3bbb11cbbeb03497a058e429bb&width=400&height=225)
![Dogs were found to have evolved two new muscles: levator anguli oculi medialis (or LAOM) in the forehead and retractor anguli oculi lateralis (RAOL) near the side of the eye. AP Photo](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/CHZJDWULFZEXOTCJS765O3YTNM.jpg?smart=true&auth=9e5eba4aaf6018682b428c65a22199f3c4e601d0ee986ec719c086334eba216d&width=400&height=225)
![Using those new muscles, dogs are able to raise their inner eyebrows which makes their eyes seem large and face more babyish. AFP](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/NWTDFNJTNDO6LWLLRNVKG25X2M.jpg?smart=true&auth=8ea0426a9d88cfcdc1dcf218d8701a76836e7bcc43913b654edb8c271f14cc13&width=400&height=225)
![The dissections of six dogs – a chihuahua, a labrador, a bloodhound, a German shepherd, a Siberian husky and a mongrel – found they all had the LAOM muscle while dissection of four grey wolves (their closest relatives) found that they did not. AP photo](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/GKD4EFKHX2TX6UVCOETSF3BLWU.jpg?smart=true&auth=ad0906fa0f97adde28108709320916cfd91e5d81b6edd680d3377b0e5f3be003&width=400&height=225)
![However the Siberian husky was missing the RAOL muscle. AFP](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/B7A7R3TFNFQAGZKHTMEWPIADOQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=7a57c91d0c73b1c75a189f041b8d8917c814c57c93c966d5b2a7580e73191db7&width=400&height=225)
![A separate study concluded that dogs who displayed this expression were more likely to get re-homed from a shelter. AFP](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/JSTZZQAAVG5GZ4INNALW4RBOWU.jpg?smart=true&auth=19e3e0dfafd3f4e3989174fbebfe1b749d9a47efd94d6dbfa95071f335aeb9a5&width=400&height=225)
![A study suggests that over thousands of years of dog domestication, people preferred dogs that could pull off the ”puppy dog" eyes look. AP photo](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/PLN6S6OF6TRJAZEWCCYZYRF7WM.jpg?smart=true&auth=56df73368d2ffa6050a6f5c724f12c529d386b3bbb11cbbeb03497a058e429bb&width=400&height=225)
![Dogs were found to have evolved two new muscles: levator anguli oculi medialis (or LAOM) in the forehead and retractor anguli oculi lateralis (RAOL) near the side of the eye. AP Photo](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/CHZJDWULFZEXOTCJS765O3YTNM.jpg?smart=true&auth=9e5eba4aaf6018682b428c65a22199f3c4e601d0ee986ec719c086334eba216d&width=400&height=225)
![Using those new muscles, dogs are able to raise their inner eyebrows which makes their eyes seem large and face more babyish. AFP](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/NWTDFNJTNDO6LWLLRNVKG25X2M.jpg?smart=true&auth=8ea0426a9d88cfcdc1dcf218d8701a76836e7bcc43913b654edb8c271f14cc13&width=400&height=225)
![The dissections of six dogs – a chihuahua, a labrador, a bloodhound, a German shepherd, a Siberian husky and a mongrel – found they all had the LAOM muscle while dissection of four grey wolves (their closest relatives) found that they did not. AP photo](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/GKD4EFKHX2TX6UVCOETSF3BLWU.jpg?smart=true&auth=ad0906fa0f97adde28108709320916cfd91e5d81b6edd680d3377b0e5f3be003&width=400&height=225)
![However the Siberian husky was missing the RAOL muscle. AFP](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/B7A7R3TFNFQAGZKHTMEWPIADOQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=7a57c91d0c73b1c75a189f041b8d8917c814c57c93c966d5b2a7580e73191db7&width=400&height=225)
![A separate study concluded that dogs who displayed this expression were more likely to get re-homed from a shelter. AFP](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/JSTZZQAAVG5GZ4INNALW4RBOWU.jpg?smart=true&auth=19e3e0dfafd3f4e3989174fbebfe1b749d9a47efd94d6dbfa95071f335aeb9a5&width=400&height=225)
Puppy dogs eyes are real: here's how canines have evolved to use them
A new study has revealed that muscles around dogs' eyes have evolved to allow them to make expressions that particularly appeal to humans
![Evelyn Lau](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Farc-authors%2Fthenational%2F326930c8-426e-4292-8915-488062faf4ec.png?smart=true&auth=bf65363a4ec5524d4fde02fe884073b2948f09e3aaac804a1077fa41b77f1ecb&width=70&height=70)
Evelyn Lau
June 19, 2019
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