Humans respond much the same way as dogs when stared at. They look away, take a step back, or challenge the “starer” with a question or comment, “You’re staring at me funny.” “Why are you looking at me that way?” “You’re creeping me out!”
To confirm the already accepted theory that staring is uncomfortable at best and rude at worst, I conducted an experiment with both my two legged family and my four legged family. I had a total of six unwitting participants, and a simple set up: I would try to hold each person’s or dog’s gaze for a silent count of five seconds, keeping my eyes soft and acting as naturally as possible. I conducted two separate trials and NOBODY HELD MY GAZE FOR THE FULL FIVE SECONDS. In fact, one human dropped their gaze less than two and a half seconds into the experiment (twice), and the three remaining humans all asked me what was wrong when I looked at them for more than four seconds. The dogs looked away within a second or two, and averted their heads and lip licked.
What’s the take away?
Staring, whether at a human or at a dog, is rude and doesn’t foster trust or connection.
Should you look at your dog? Yes, of course, but don’t expect her to hold your gaze for long.
Keep your eyes soft and your face relaxed. Your dog doesn’t need to be gazing deep into your eyes to be connected with you; an ear flick, quick head turn, body oriented to you or wagging tail when they hear your voice all indicate that they’re tuned in.
Photo by Scott LePage Photography
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