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.
How come the invisible dogs are so much better behaved than real ones? When I run my invisible dog for agility (aka walking the course), he always qualifies. Well, except when I was running my invisible Jet the try-ing.
