some of what they re finding is a real surprise. abc s linzie janis has been talking to the animals. reporter: pets are always this easy to read. there is a lot of jumping, tails wagging. he ll stick out, like, his lower tooth like this, huh? reporter: researchers say there may be some, shall we say, misunderstandings between us. scientists in japan used high speed cameras to track doggy facial expressions in different situations and found similar patterns in how they behaved. they say raised eyebrows, perilously the left one means, i would like your attention. they notice the dog s left ear moves back when coming across a stranger, which expresses fear. kind of looks away. try to look at her. looking away. a sign that she is not very happy. reporter: in dog-speak that means i m being polite. avoiding confrontation. cats are more complicated. in britain animal scientists came up with a self-help video for cat owners looking to decode their mysterious ways. like this kitty r
it s telling you, rub my head. and not for too long either. cats like a lot of me time. so next time you think kitty need a big hug or fido is carefree, take a closer look. after all, communication is everything. linzie janis, abc news, new york. all right. i don t know if i am an expert. i get a feeling dogs, in most cases, i feel like i can get what they re going for. cats on the other hand, i have no clue. i had a cat once. it s hard to read a cat. he did not like me. she did not like me. she might have loved you. you just don t know. maybe she didn t. serial killer that s what they say. maybe you don t want to know what your cat is talking about. did you ever have a dog? i would love to have a dog. not quite responsible enough to have a dog. lot of work. great commitment. i m thinking about getting one. i had one years ago. might be time for another one. wish you luck with that one. a puppy, or big dog? i think the ultimate thing would be a rescue dog, 1-year-ol
not quite. that would be a violation of trust. he s telling you, rub my head. and not for too long either. cats like a lot of me time. so next time you think kitty need a big hug or fido is carefree, take a closer look. after all, communication is everything. linzie janis, abc news, new york. all right. i don t know if i am an expert. i get a feeling dogs, in most cases, i feel like i can get what they re going for. cats on the other hand, i have no clue. i had a cat once. she did not like me. she did not like me. she might have loved you. you just don t know. maybe she didn t. serial killer that s what they say. maybe you don t want to know what your cat is talking about. do you have a dog? would love to have a dog. not quite responsible enough to have a dog. lot of work. great commitment. i m thinking about getting one. i had one years ago. might be time for another one. wish you luck with that one. a puppy, or big dog? ultimate, rescue, rescue do
this easy to read. there is a lot of jumping, tails wagging. he ll stick out, like, his lower tooth like this, huh? reporter: researchers say there may be some, shall we say, misunderstandings between us. scientists in japan used high speed cameras to track doggy facial expressions in different situations and found similar patterns in how they behaved. they say raised eyebrows, especially the left one, means i would like your attention. they notice the dog s left ear moves back when coming across a stranger, expressing fear. kind of looks away. try to look at her. looking away. a sign that she is not very happy. reporter: in dog-speak that means i m being polite. avoiding confrontation. cats are more complicated. in britain animal scientists came up with a self-help video for cat owners looking to decode their mysterious ways. like this kitty rolling over. think this means rub my belly, please? not quite. that would be a violation of trust.