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CNN Live At Daybreak

Winning Smile? Doggie Expressions

Aired February 11, 2003 - 05:51   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: America's biggest and most prestigious dog show wraps up tonight in New York, and the most sought-after prize, Best in Show, will be awarded to one lucky pooch.
Leave it to our Jeanne Moos to wonder if it will all come down to a dog-winning smile.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is it our imagination, or is that Westminster show dog smiling? You'd better smile if your name is...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cupid.

MOOS: And this is Casper.

(on camera): Somewhere between a smile and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) grimace.

(voice-over): In the minds of many dog owners, there is no doubt...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, definitely, I definitely think they smile.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely Emerson (ph) smiles.

MOOS: Emerson (ph) is a Burmese mountain dog, and this is Dickens (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, he just kind of looks at you with that big, happy, goofy grin.

MOOS: Lassie always seemed like she was smiling, but somehow you don't expect to see a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) break into a grin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, he smiles.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He smiles.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a smile, look at that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people think it's some farm animal. They'll ask, "Is that a dog?"

MOOS: That is a commondore (ph), a Hungarian breed often mistaken for the sheep it traditionally guards.

For some dogs...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smile.

MOOS: ... smiling is hopeless.

(on camera): (UNINTELLIGIBLE) smiling dogs. What makes her smile?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A cookie?

MOOS: Not me obviously.

MOOS (voice-over): Some show dogs remind us of fashion models who refuse to crack a smile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. Bennie (ph), do you smile?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has a happy look, let's put it that way. I wouldn't say he's a smiler like some dogs are.

MOOS: Only in rare cases do Westminster judges, like Don Carmody, look for a smile.

DON CARMODY, WESTMINSTER JUDGE: But there are some breeds, like the Sammy (ph), that should be smiling.

MOOS: Sammy (ph), as in Samoans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You'll actually see the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) come up.

MOOS: But is a canine smile really a smile? Or are we just reading into it? The director of the ASPCA's animal behavior center says the smile is actually at the other end.

DR. PAMELA REID, ANIMAL BEHAVIORIST, ASPCA: I would say if you're looking for the canine analog of a human smile, it would be the tail wagging.

MOOS: There's plenty of that at the dog show, but beware, some tail wagging signals aggression.

(on camera): So, that wagging tail is not a happy wagging tail.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not at that point. See, it's stiff and it's up quite high.

MOOS (voice-over): Some dogs are smile-proof.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His name is Hannibal Lector, M.D. (ph).

MOOS: Bulldogs have a huge tongue that tends to hang out when they relax, and if it dries out, it almost seems to get stuck.

(on camera): How do you know he's happy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can just tell by his expression. You can't see he's happy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): Smile though your heart is aching.

MOOS (voice-over): That's not his heart aching. It's his mouth.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired February 11, 2003 - 05:51   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: America's biggest and most prestigious dog show wraps up tonight in New York, and the most sought-after prize, Best in Show, will be awarded to one lucky pooch.
Leave it to our Jeanne Moos to wonder if it will all come down to a dog-winning smile.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is it our imagination, or is that Westminster show dog smiling? You'd better smile if your name is...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cupid.

MOOS: And this is Casper.

(on camera): Somewhere between a smile and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) grimace.

(voice-over): In the minds of many dog owners, there is no doubt...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, definitely, I definitely think they smile.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely Emerson (ph) smiles.

MOOS: Emerson (ph) is a Burmese mountain dog, and this is Dickens (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, he just kind of looks at you with that big, happy, goofy grin.

MOOS: Lassie always seemed like she was smiling, but somehow you don't expect to see a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) break into a grin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, he smiles.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He smiles.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a smile, look at that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people think it's some farm animal. They'll ask, "Is that a dog?"

MOOS: That is a commondore (ph), a Hungarian breed often mistaken for the sheep it traditionally guards.

For some dogs...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smile.

MOOS: ... smiling is hopeless.

(on camera): (UNINTELLIGIBLE) smiling dogs. What makes her smile?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A cookie?

MOOS: Not me obviously.

MOOS (voice-over): Some show dogs remind us of fashion models who refuse to crack a smile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. Bennie (ph), do you smile?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has a happy look, let's put it that way. I wouldn't say he's a smiler like some dogs are.

MOOS: Only in rare cases do Westminster judges, like Don Carmody, look for a smile.

DON CARMODY, WESTMINSTER JUDGE: But there are some breeds, like the Sammy (ph), that should be smiling.

MOOS: Sammy (ph), as in Samoans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You'll actually see the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) come up.

MOOS: But is a canine smile really a smile? Or are we just reading into it? The director of the ASPCA's animal behavior center says the smile is actually at the other end.

DR. PAMELA REID, ANIMAL BEHAVIORIST, ASPCA: I would say if you're looking for the canine analog of a human smile, it would be the tail wagging.

MOOS: There's plenty of that at the dog show, but beware, some tail wagging signals aggression.

(on camera): So, that wagging tail is not a happy wagging tail.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not at that point. See, it's stiff and it's up quite high.

MOOS (voice-over): Some dogs are smile-proof.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His name is Hannibal Lector, M.D. (ph).

MOOS: Bulldogs have a huge tongue that tends to hang out when they relax, and if it dries out, it almost seems to get stuck.

(on camera): How do you know he's happy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can just tell by his expression. You can't see he's happy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): Smile though your heart is aching.

MOOS (voice-over): That's not his heart aching. It's his mouth.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.