Mother Nature Network

Canine communication is big on folded ears, tucked tails and other body language, but pet dogs are also careful students of the human face. Not only can a dog identify its owner’s face in a crowd, but it can even tell when a stranger is smiling.
Since President Obama is widely recognizable, our view of this modified image may resemble how dogs see a familiar human face. It’s much blurrier than what we see, but that basic amount of visual information still sparks welcome-home frenzies from dogs around the world every day.
See more images of how dogs see the world.