Without a doubt, one of the best things about our lives as dog tutors is that we never feel alone. In fact, sometimes, it feels like we're being watched by the watchful little eyes of our best friends, following us everywhere.
If you have already been surprised by your dog's gaze, it is possible that, in addition to being amazed by his incredible ability to not blink, you may ask yourself questions such as: "why does my dog stare at me a lot?" ?", "why does my dog follow me everywhere?" or "why does my dog always want to be on top of me?"
On our site we will help you understand what it means when a dog holds your gaze, as if paying the utmost attention to each one of your movements. On the other hand, we will also explain to you why, at times, your dog may glance at you sideways and look away, as if he were avoiding you. Read on to get to know your best friend better!
Your dog stares at you to ask you for something
One of the main reasons dogs often maintain such direct and prolonged eye contact with their handlers is to ask them for something they need or want, be it your food, a treat, a walk or a caress.
If your furry stares at you very intently when you come home, he may want to go for a walkto exercise, interact with others dogs and relieve themselves. On the other hand, if it's been many hours since your best friend has fed, chances are is hungry and wants to "remind" you that it's about time to give him his food.
It is also possible for a dog to hold his gaze to ask his guardian to give him attention, give him pets or engage in play with him for a 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 interest, he will be able to assimilate that is being rewardedfor engaging in these behaviors.
Then, whenever he wants to win a snack or other reward, he can resort to following you around or holding your gaze until he catches your attention and gets what he likes. This is often called unconscious training.
Your dog is watching you intently to read your expressions
As we always mentioned, dogs mostly use their body language to communicate with their guardians, with other dogs and animals, and with their own environment. For this reason, our best friends are always attentive to our attitudes, postures, gestures and facial expressions to identify our mood and understand what is happening at home.
For this reason, your dog will eventually stare at you to "read" your emotions and understand the message your body is expressing non-verbally. All this usually happens when we talk to our dogs or we start doing something that is very curious or strange to them. Then, they will look at us very carefully to try to understand what we are saying or what we are doing by observing the non-verbal signals that we communicate with our face and with all our Body.
Your dog watches you carefully during his training
If your dog is staring at you during a dog training session, this is a great sign that he is paying attention to commands what do you teach him In fact, eye contact plays a key role in dog training, especially when we intend to train a deaf dog.
Before starting each session and when presenting each new command or task, we must make sure that our dog is attentive and properly concentratedin training. One of the best proofs that your dog is paying attention to you is when you manage to maintain eye contact with him. To do this, it will be essential that your furry has already learned to come to your call before beginning to present the basic canine obedience commands. In the case of a deaf dog, it is best to use a vibrating collar to attract his attention and get him to look at you carefully.
In addition, it is also important to choose the right place to teach your furry and encourage their concentration. Basically, we should avoid places that offer an excess of stimuli, such as noises, smells, people, dogs, cats, etc.
Your dog is staring at you and adopting a defensive posture
Contrary to what you may read on some sites, staring at your dog does not mean giving him a "dog hug". In fact, dogs tend to interpret this attitude as a kind of challenge or confrontation.
If your dog is staring at you and adopting an aggressive posture, with signs such as baring his teeth, bristling, putting his ears back and growling, it means he is angry and prepares to attack. In this case, the best thing to do is to look away, walk away slowly without making sudden movements or turn your back on it, and wait for the animal to calm down.
Afterwards we recommend you take him to the vet to rule out possible medical problems that could cause behavioral problems, such as aggressiveness. After ruling out possible pathological causes, you will need to seek the help of a canine ethologist or educator to establish a treatment based on specific guidelines according to the needs of your best friend.
Why is my dog avoiding my eyes?
Many guardians wonder what it means when their dogs glance or avert their eyes To understand this attitude of our best friends, we must learn to analyze not only the way you look, but also consider the other signals transmitted by your body.
If your furry looks at you out of the corner of his eye, he avoids your gaze and shows other signs of calm, such as yawning, licking his lips or turning his face, it can mean that he does 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 command in training sessions.
Logically, by not being able to understand you, your furry will be uncomfortable and won't know exactly how to act on this occasion. Therefore, always remember that your posture and your expressions must be in tune with what your words convey, so you can communicate more efficiently with your furry ones.
