Continuous Automated Analysis of Facial Dynamics of Brachycephalic and  Normocephalic Dogs in Different Contexts

Continuous Automated Analysis of Facial Dynamics of Brachycephalic and Normocephalic Dogs in Different Contexts | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Continuous Automated Analysis of Facial Dynamics of Brachycephalic and Normocephalic Dogs in Different Contexts George Martvel, Petra Eretová, Lucie Přibylová, Helena Chaloupková, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5699900/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 May, 2025 Read the published version in BMC Veterinary Research → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study develops a novel automated method for measuring continuous dynamics of dog facial behavior based on video-based tracking of 46 facial landmarks grounded in the Dog Facial Action Coding System. This method is applied for comparing the facial behavior of (n1=7) brachycephalic (Boston Terrier) and (n2=7) normocephalic (Jack Russel Terrier) dogs in four different contexts, eliciting various inner states: positive (play and called by name) and negative (separation and stranger). Having objectively quantified facial dynamics in brachycephalic and normocephalic dogs, we have found that brachycephalic dogs exhibited consistently lower facial dynamics across all four tested contexts and facial regions (eyes, mouth, and ears) compared to normocephalic dogs. They further demonstrated relatively higher dynamics in positive play and negative stranger conditions than in the other two conditions. In contrast, normocephalic dogs showed elevated dynamics exclusively in the positive play condition, with significantly reduced dynamics in the negative stranger condition. These findings highlight distinct patterns of facial expressivity between the two morphological groups, suggesting decreased facial expression in brachycephalic dogs and demonstrating our method's value in providing novel insights into canine communication. dog emotion brachycephaly facial expressions facial dynamics facial landmarks artificial intelligence machine learning automated behavior analysis Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 May, 2025 Read the published version in BMC Veterinary Research → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 05 May, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 05 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 15 Apr, 2025 Reviews received at journal 14 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Apr, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 06 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 31 Mar, 2025 First submitted to journal 28 Mar, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5699900","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":439694191,"identity":"c2e36cb5-e7ca-49bf-9b77-c92fc53f304b","order_by":0,"name":"George Martvel","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Haifa","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"George","middleName":"","lastName":"Martvel","suffix":""},{"id":439694192,"identity":"82db43f0-7ddd-4888-b9e2-a9e891748679","order_by":1,"name":"Petra Eretová","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Czech University of Life 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