Thank you for posting this clip. I wish more of this could be shown , Staffies get a very bad press over here and are blamed by the media for all sorts of horrors!
The golden I used to have did similar things w/her ears/eyes when I approached w/a leash. It was a habit formed from years of me sliding a new collar on with the leash attached. She'd squint and pull her ears back in anticipation of the collar being slid over her head.
The smile? I never got that.
That is a happy ending! My SIL's boxer ran out the door one Christmas morning at the other SIL's house. We all watched in horror as she dashed into the street and ran INTO an car. She bounced off the passenger door, and seemed completely unphased!