You are doing your things, and ... Do you notice a pair of eyes watching you? You look up and see your little friend watching you, without blinking or moving. But looking at you without losing detail. Does this scene sound like to you?
(Photo via: holawimiz)
When dogs stare at us, it's because they want something! However, these are the main causes of staring at us:
- He wants to go for a walk
- Would you like to eat or give him goodies?
- I would like to play
- He is asking for caresses or pampering
- He looks at you because of your mood
- Be curious about what you are doing
If you are training your dog, he may be looking at you because he awaits your orders.
The exceptions that confirm the rule
If a dog you don't know starts staring at you, It's not the same case as if your pet looks at you! In that case, that dog could attack you! However, there are some signs that can give you the alarm voice:
- Ears forward
- Fast movements>
(Photo via: iheartdogs)
How to interpret the look of a dog
Dogs they are the animals that more and better communicate with human beings. However if you want to interpret their looks, there are some tips!
- Open pupils: they can mean either that it is animated or it can mean fear.
- Closed pupils: Your pet is calm and calm.
- Your dog looks away or blinks: in that case it means insecurity, discomfort. If you are in the training phase, it will be an attempt to avoid your orders.
If what is happening is that it does not want to heed your orders. Remember that with love and love, you will solve that situation!
Your dog stares at you to ask for something
One of the main reasons why dogs usually maintain such direct and prolonged eye contact with their tutors, is to ask them something they need or wantBe it your food, a treat, a walk or a caress.
If your furry looks at you very hard when you return home, you may want to Go for a walk to exercise, interact with other dogs and do their needs. On the other hand, if it has been many hours since your best friend has fed, chances are that be hungry and he wants to "remind you" that it is time to give him his food.
It is also possible for a dog to hold his gaze to ask his tutor to lend him Attention, caress him or devote himself to play with him for a good while, especially if his "favorite human" is busy doing other things.
Although this behavior is common in dogs, we can also end up reinforcing it, even if we do it unconsciously. If every time your furry follows you around the house or stares at you, you offer him a treat, a toy or another prize of his interest, he can assimilate that is being rewarded for carrying out these behaviors.
So, whenever you want to win some snack or another reward, he can resort to following you everywhere or holding your gaze until he catches your attention and gets what he likes. This is usually called unconscious training.
Your dog watches you carefully to read your expressions
As we always mentioned, dogs mostly use their body language to communicate with their tutors, with other dogs and animals, and with their own environment. Therefore, our best friends are always always attentive to our attitudes, postures, gestures and facial expressions to identify our mood and understand what happens at home.
For this reason, eventually your dog will stare at you to "read" your emotions and understand the message that your body expresses nonverbally. All this usually happens when we talk to our dogs or start doing something that is very curious or strange to them. Then, they will look at us very carefully to try understand what we are telling them or what we are doing by observing the nonverbal cues we communicate with our face and with our whole body.
Remember that although your furry can learn many words, his way of expressing himself and relating is based on nonverbal language. Therefore, if you want to improve your bond and communication with your best friend, we invite you to learn more about dog poses and their meanings in Animal Expert.
Your dog looks at you carefully during his training
If your dog stares at you during a canine training session, this is an excellent sign that is paying attention to the orders that you teach him. In fact, eye contact has a key role in the training of dogs, especially when we propose to educate a deaf dog.
Before starting each session and when presenting each new command or task, we must ensure that our dog is attentive and properly concentrated in training. One of the best evidence that your dog is paying attention to you is when you manage to maintain eye contact with him. For this, it will be essential that your furry has already learned to come to your call before beginning to present the basic orders of canine obedience. In the case of a deaf dog, it is best to use a vibrating collar to get their attention and get them to look at you carefully.
In addition, it is also important to choose the right place to teach your hairy and favor their concentration. Basically, we should avoid sites that offer excessive stimuli, such as noise, smells, people, dogs, cats, etc.
Your dog stares at you and adopts a defensive posture
Contrary to what you can read in some places, staring at your dog does not mean giving him a "canine hug." Actually, dogs often interpret this attitude as a kind of challenge or confrontation.
If your dog stares at you and adopts an aggressive posture, with signs such as showing teeth, bristling hairs, putting ears back and growling, it means that he's angry and prepares to attack. In this case, the best thing you can do is look away, move away slowly without making sudden movements or turn your back, and wait for the animal to calm down.
Then we recommend you take him to the vet to rule out possible medical problems that may cause behavioral problems, such as aggressiveness. After ruling out possible pathological causes, you will need to seek the help of an ethologist or canine educator to establish a treatment based on specific guidelines according to the needs of your best friend.
Why does my dog avoid my gaze?
Many tutors wonder what it means when their dogs they look sideways or avoid looking. To understand this attitude of our best friends, we must learn to analyze not only their way of looking, also considering the other signals transmitted by their body.
If your furry looks at you sideways, it avoids your eyes and shows other signs of calm, such as yawn, lick or turn your face, it can mean that you do not understand what you say or ask through your words. It usually happens when you talk to him or try to teach him some new order in training sessions.
Logically, at not get to understand you, your hairy will be uncomfortable and will not know exactly how he should act this time. Therefore, always remember that your posture and your expressions should be in tune with what your words convey, so you can communicate more efficiently with your hairy.
If you want to read more articles similar to What does it mean when a dog looks at you?, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.
Staring is good
Dogs, when they look at their owner intensely, They usually want to say something. With their eyes they are able to make understand if they need something or if the situation is not going well. It is also a way of expressing their love and love, especially females. A study of Duke University Canine Cognition Center This question was raised and they carried out an experiment: they gathered dogs and people together to analyze what happened when they stared at each other and the result was surprising.
Among the couples they had established intense eye contact had segregated oxytocin, the so-called love and happiness hormone that occurs when you are happy. This research reinforces the theory that it is positive to look our pet's eyes and that they interpret it as a sign of love.
An alert sign
The intense gaze of an unknown dog can also be a Defense mechanism. To know its exact meaning you simply have to interpret if it accompanies it with other gestures such as the tail (in tension), the hair (bristling) or the lasorejas (backwards). Your common sense will make you understand what it is.
Stare
When a dog stares at another it is because it is about to attack. It is a tense look that these animals only hold when they have a reason to fight (female in heat, territory, food, toy or for her life). Normally, the dog will also show fangs, ruffled back hair and can growl.
Avoid eye contact
In tense situations, such as when a dog approaches another that is shy or insecure, the latter will avoid looking at it. In this way, he will be telling you that he does not want conflicts and that he wants him away.
He will also react like this if he has had the bad luck of living in a house where he was mistreated, even long after he had found a good family.
Is attentive
We will know if the dog is attentive if his eyes are wide open. You can also have your ears straight, your mouth completely closed or slightly open, and in a position ready to act. For example, it will show like this every time we are about to throw your favorite ball, or before going for a walk.
Want to play
If it blinks it will be telling us that it wants to play. And if we have doubts, we can confirm it if we see it crouched, a little backwards, with the front legs stretched, and with the mouth slightly open. Sometimes it will even bark. It will be a short, sharp, very cheerful bark.
Knowing this, we can communicate much better with our dear friend.
