{"id":27520,"date":"2023-05-27T16:30:52","date_gmt":"2023-05-27T14:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=144416"},"modified":"2023-05-27T16:37:10","modified_gmt":"2023-05-27T14:37:10","slug":"the-incredibly-adorable-reason-your-dog-stares-at-you","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/the-incredibly-adorable-reason-your-dog-stares-at-you\/","title":{"rendered":"The (incredibly adorable) reason your dog stares at you"},"content":{"rendered":"

What exactly is going on behind those big, brown eyes? <\/p>

By Jason Goodyer\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Saturday, 27 May 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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No doubt everyone who has lived with a dog<\/a> will be familiar with the scenario: you\u2019re cooking, reading a book, or otherwise minding your business when you look up to see your pup staring at you from across the room with longing eyes.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a common behaviour that can be puzzling at times. But why does it happen? Just what is going through your dog\u2019s mind?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a story with a surprisingly long history. In fact, it turns out that investigating the reasons that our dogs watch us so intently was top of the list when researchers first delved into canine psychology several decades ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the first discoveries in dog cognition research that led to a lot of future studies is that dogs will look us in the eyes and at our faces in a way that\u2019s very unusual for animals,\u201d says Alexandra Horowitz<\/a>, a professor of canine cognition based at Barnard College, Columbia University, New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that no other animals do this, but most animals use staring as a threat display. Wolves, for instance, will stare down an unknown wolf, maybe to avoid a conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why does my dog stare at me?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The most straightforward explanation as to why your pet pooch might be giving you the eye is simply that they are looking to you, as their owner, for cues on how they should behave and what they should be doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou control their world. Dogs are, and I don\u2019t want to put too fine a point on this, captive to us for the most part,\u201d says Horowitz.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe designate when they eat, when they can go out and socialise and sniff the world, and where they can urinate and defecate. We\u2019re in control of all of the things that they want to do, and they want to see when that\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the behaviour is linked to something deeper: studies have shown that dogs\u2019 ability to interpret our feelings and desires is so finely tuned that they are able to distinguish emotional facial expressions from neutral expressions<\/a> and happy faces from angry ones \u2013 even if they are only shown photographs of faces.<\/p>\n

The ability is likely due to the intimate bond that humans and dogs have evolved<\/a> over thousands of years of living together.<\/p>\n

\u201cHumans use gazing at each other as an intimate gesture. It\u2019s something you do with people you\u2019re friendly with. It\u2019s also used for communication \u2013 you get somebody\u2019s attention by looking at them and you hold their gaze when speaking to them,\u201d says Horowitz.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe find it very appealing, and somewhere along the way we either selected dogs that will look at our faces \u2013 or dogs selected themselves in some way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think this indicates they are interested in us and that they understand us. But at minimum they\u2019re looking for information from us and they know that our faces are the source of a lot of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, next time you find your pup gazing intently at you, don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s perfectly natural. They are likely just trying to figure out what you are doing and how to be a part of it. What good boys and girls.<\/p>\n

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About our expert, Prof Alexandra Horowitz<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Alexandra is a professor of canine cognition based at Barnard College, Columbia University, New York.<\/p>\n

Her work has been published in the academic journals\u00a0Animal Cognition<\/em>,\u00a0Learning And Behaviour <\/em>and the\u00a0Official Journal Of The Society For Neuroscience<\/em>.<\/p>\n

She is also the author of the books\u00a0Inside Of A Dog \u2013 What Dogs See, Smell And Know<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0The Year Of The Puppy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Read more about the science of dogs:<\/strong><\/p>\n