The Science Of Looking A Dog In The Eye (But Don’t Stare!)
They say the eyes are the window to the soul. In human interactions, making eye contact often is associated with trustworthiness and sincerity.
On the other hand, a lack of eye contact can make a person seem untrustworthy or shifty as if they have something to hide.
Parents often tell their children not to stare because it is considered impolite behavior.
But how does this all translate to our canine companions?
Why does my dog stare at me?
When it comes to interacting with humans, dogs are very perceptive to the various cues we give off.
For example, they can tell when we’re paying attention to them and when we’re not.
This is often evident through eye contact – dogs tend to follow human communicative gestures more when we make eye contact with them (Savalli et al., 2016).
However, scientists are still trying to figure out all the ways that dogs use eye contact to communicate with us.
Among other things, if your dog stares at you sometimes, he may just be trying to get your attention or read you to figure out what you’re going to do next.
My dogs tend to stare nervously at me if I’m watching a football match and start shouting at the screen. They don’t understand why I’m shouting, but they sure don’t like it!
If your dog’s staring at you, it could also be a sign of affection and connection.
And of course, there’s also the possibility your pup may just want something from you, like food or to go outside.
It’s important to consider the context and your dog’s body language when trying to understand why he may be staring at you, as well as your own behavior.
Should I make eye contact with my dog?
In a word yes, as long as it’s soft eye contact or a loving gaze – and not a hard, direct stare!
Nagasawa et al. (2015) found that both male and female owners who spent the most time gazing into their dog’s eyes experienced a greater increase in oxytocin levels (300%) than those who didn’t.
The dogs (also both male and female) experienced a 130% rise in oxytocin levels.
That’s pretty high! The findings suggest that the act of mutual gazing plays an important role in the bond between dogs and their owners.
Another study (Kaminski et al., 2017) found that dogs produced “significantly more facial movements when the human was attentive than when she was not.”
So your dog knows when you’re looking at him and may tailor his behavior accordingly.
Using eye contact to communicate with your dog
It’s important to remember that every dog is different and their individual personalities will also play a role in their response to eye contact.
It’s always best to err on the side of caution, take cues from your dog’s body language, and be patient when trying to establish communication through eye contact.
Soft, brief eye contact can be used as a calming signal or as reinforcement for good behavior, but avoid prolonged staring.
If your dog seems uncomfortable with eye contact, try turning slightly away from him and using your peripheral vision instead. Or try using another gesture, such as a hand signal or verbal cue, to communicate with your pup.
When we first adopted our Romanian rescue dog Florence, she was absolutely terrified and completely shut down the first time we got her home from the animal shelter. We couldn’t even get her to walk, much less interact with us.
I used to sit on the floor on the opposite side of the room to her, facing sideways on, and just occasionally turn my head toward her and make brief eye contact, then look away again.
We did lots of repetitions for this and I started tossing a treat toward her when she looked at me.
By doing this, I was able to reward her for making soft eye contact that helped build up her trust in me and our mutual bond.
This quickly developed into a better relationship where she felt completely safe with me.
Why do dogs avoid eye contact with humans?
There could be a variety of reasons why your dog might avoid eye contact with you.
If your dog has experienced abuse or mistreatment, he may have learned to look away as a form of deference or appeasement to try to avoid further punishment.
Other possible reasons include fear, anxiety, or discomfort in the current environment.
Pretty much all of these applied when we first got Florence home.
Another possibility is that your dog may be experiencing pain or illness, which can affect his behavior and interactions with you.
Why does my dog growl when we make eye contact?
If you find yourself at the receiving end of a hard stare plus a tense body and (possibly) raised hackles, it could be a sign of your dog’s discomfort or potentially aggressive behavior.
Or your pup may be guarding something that’s important to him, such as his dinner, a toy, or his bed.
In such instances, staring back at him may well be seen as a challenge and may lead to an aggressive response.
“If you continue to invade his comfort zone, his threats may intensify, with more tension, a hard stare, and a low growl,” says Pat Miller.
This should obviously be avoided at all costs. Instead, calmly remove yourself from the situation.
It’s important to respect your dog’s boundaries and communicate with him in a way that makes him feel safe and comfortable.
Staring and dominance
I’ll just come out and say it.
You don’t need to stare at your dog to assert your dominance. This old chestnut has been doing the rounds for years but it’s completely inappropriate to the dog-human relationship.
Dogs and humans have evolved to live and work together as a cooperative team, not as some sort of weird interspecies pack with dominant-submissive relationships. Contrary to what you might read on the internet!
It’s also a myth that your dog should avert his gaze first if you establish eye contact with him (Horwitz & Landsberg, 2022).
Instead, they say, “teach your dog to watch your face on cue; then you have his attention, and if your dog is watching you instead of something else many problems can be avoided.”
Staring, especially if it’s a hard stare, can make your dog feel threatened or uncomfortable.
It’s important to use positive reinforcement techniques instead of dominance-based ones in training and everyday interactions with your dog to avoid the inevitable fallout later on.
7 types of eye contact in dogs
Just as there are different types of human eye contact, the same goes for dogs. These include:
#1. Avoiding eye contact
If your dog looks away or breaks eye contact, it’s often an appeasing gesture or a sign of deference.
Your pup may also be fearful. He may turn his head away completely, or there may just be a “subtle flick of the eyes.” (Miller, 2016).
#2. Closed eyes
If your dog’s eyes are closed or slightly squinting, his eyes may become “almond-shaped with no white showing at all.” (ASPCA, 2022).
This can again be an appeasement gesture or simply a sign he’s feeling relaxed.
#3. Soft eye contact
When your dog makes direct eye contact without staring, it’s an indication he’s feeling calm and friendly.
This is a relaxed, gentle gaze without any tension or aggression.
#4. Wide eyes
When your dog’s eyes are wide open he’s feeling confident and assertive (Miller, 2016).
#5. Hard eye contact
If your dog is staring intently, focused, and unblinking without breaking eye contact, it’s a sign he’s alert, excited, and emotionally aroused.
The arousal could be playful or aggressive, it all depends on the context. You may see this around an unfamiliar dog or even between resident dogs if they’re playing or having a disagreement about something.
Staring is considered to be a hostile behavior in the canine world, so it’s important to be aware of your dog’s body language and take steps to diffuse the situation if necessary.
#6. Blocking eye contact
I haven’t seen this often, but some dogs may cover one or both eyes with their paw(s). This is typically used as a calming signal to diffuse tense situations.
My parents used to have a beautiful Labrador retriever called Sally who was terrified of horses. Whenever we came across horses on our daily walks, she’d lie down and cover her eyes with her paws till they’d gone.
#7. Whale eye (aka half-moon eye)
Whale eye means the dog is showing the white of his eyes on either side. This is often accompanied by averting the head, tense facial muscles, and a closed mouth.
Whale eye in fear
“When a dog feels frightened or threatened, his eyes widen, exposing the white parts of his eyes (the sclera),” says dog trainer Jill Breitner.
You often see this if you scold your dog for some reason or in dogs that are being hugged when they don’t want to be.
All over the internet, there are photos of loving dog owners (especially children) hugging their dogs while the poor dog is showing the whites of his eyes and looking desperately in the opposite direction. He’s saying, “I don’t like this, get me out of here!”
It’s to their eternal credit that so many dogs are able to go along with situations like this without reacting.
But sometimes they do – because their prior warnings have been ignored and they just want the unpleasant experience to stop.
In these cases, people will often say the dog suddenly bit them “out of nowhere.” But the signs were there all along. It’s just up to us to learn how to read them.
In situations like these, whale eye is a sign of fear or discomfort and should be respected by giving the dog space.
Whale eye in play
But just to confuse the issue, whale eye can also occur in play.
How can you tell the difference? Look at the rest of the body language and the context, and consider the dog’s overall personality too.
If his body language is loose and he’s bouncing around showing no signs of tension, then he’s feeling playful.
If he has a tense facial expression, stiff body musculature, a lowered tail, and his ears are back, then he’s feeling fearful or stressed.
Dilated pupils
If your dog’s pupils are dilated, it can also be a sign of fear or arousal.
Dilated pupils “can make the eyes look ‘glassy,’ indicating that a dog is feeling threatened, stressed or frightened.” (ASPCA, 2022).
The role of oxytocin
“Humans bond emotionally as we gaze into each other’s eyes—a process mediated by the hormone oxytocin,” say Nagasawa et al. (2015).
Oxytocin is sometimes called the “love hormone” or “cuddle hormone” because it plays an important role in human bonding. It’s associated with a wide range of positive emotions, including trust and affection.
How does it work? When you stare into someone’s eyes, your brain releases oxytocin, which then has a positive effect on the other person, in turn causing them to release oxytocin. This creates a feedback loop that strengthens the emotional bond between two people.
Oxytocin is especially beneficial for mothers and babies during early infancy when the baby can’t yet express themselves in other ways. The hormone helps build a strong bond between mother and child.
Similarly, research has found that when dogs stare into human eyes with a look of love from those puppy-dog eyes, it activates the release of oxytocin – in giving both dog and human a flood of feel-good hormones.
This suggests oxytocin also plays a role in the relationship between dogs and their owners, playing an important role in building and strengthening their emotional bond (Nagasawa et al., 2015).
Help mom, I’m stuck!
Based on observations of dogs and wolves, researchers found that dogs look to humans when faced with an insolvable version of a trained “simple manipulation” task, while wolves didn’t (Miklósi et al., 2003).
In other words, dogs seem to be able to look at human faces and use that information to communicate and even ask for help, while their wolf ancestors do not.
The researchers propose that “the readiness of dogs to look at the human face has led to complex forms of dog-human communication that cannot be achieved in wolves even after extended socialization.”
So if your pup seems to be asking for help with his eyes, it may just be in his nature! As always, observe your dog’s body language and use caution before jumping in to assist.
Eye problems
Oxytocin aside, one last good reason to gaze at your dog is to stay on top of any potential eye issues.
If you notice your dog has cloudy eyes or they look a bit red, if you can see the third eyelid (aka the nictitating membrane), if he’s pawing at or rubbing his eyes, or showing any other signs of eye irritation, it’s best to get him checked out by your veterinarian or veterinary ophthalmologist as soon as possible.
Eye problems can range from minor irritation to serious conditions, and include vision loss or vision problems, eye infections, corneal ulcer, conjunctivitis, dry eye, cataracts, retinal disorders, or primary glaucoma (Roberts, 2022).
Final thoughts
Mutual gazing can strengthen the human-animal bond, but it’s important to be mindful of your dog’s body language and adjust your behavior accordingly.
Staring or forcing eye contact can make your dog feel threatened, so positive reinforcement techniques and clear communication are key in building a strong relationship with your furry friend.
Bottom line: Eye contact can be a powerful form of communication between dogs and humans, but it’s important to understand the nuances and respect your dog’s boundaries. Happy gazing!
Resources
- 7 Tips on Canine Body Language – ASPCA
- A Simple Reason for a Big Difference: Wolves Do Not Look Back at Humans, but Dogs Do – Ádám Miklósi, Enikö Kubinyi, József Topál, Márta Gácsi, Zsófia Virányi, and Vilmos Csányi
- Beware of the Dog – Pat Miller (Dogwise)
- Dog Behavior and Training – Dominance, Alpha, and Pack Leadership – What Does It Really Mean? – Debra Horwitz, DVM, DACVB & Gary Landsberg, DVM, DACVB, DECAWBM
- Eye Contact Is Crucial for Referential Communication in Pet Dogs – Carine Savalli, Briseida Resende, and Florence Gaunet
- How dogs stole our hearts – David Grimm
- Human attention affects facial expressions in domestic dogs – Juliane Kaminski, Jennifer Hynds, Paul Morris, & Bridget M. Waller
- Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds – Miho Nagasawa, Shouhei Mitsui, Shiori En, Nobuyo Ohtani, Mitsuaki Ohta, Yasuo Sakuma, Tatatsushi Onaka, Kazutaka Mogi, and Takefumi Kikusui
- The Way Dogs (Canis familiaris) Look at Human Emotional Faces Is Modulated by Oxytocin. An Eye-Tracking Study – Anna Kis, Anna Hernádi, Bernadett Miklósi, Orsolya Kanizsár, and József Topál
- Understand Why Your Dog Growls – Pat Miller
- Whale Eyes in Dogs — What It Means When the Whites of Your Dog’s Eyes Show – Jill Breitner
- Your Dog’s Cloudy Eyes Are Adorable, But You Should Get Them Checked Out – Shauna S. Roberts
