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Study Says Dogs Use Their Eyes To Tell You What They Want

Canines use their ‘look’ to communicate with their owners.

 

London, December 31, 2019: a new study has found that our clever pups use their eyes to communicate with their owners, particularly when it’s regarding food or wanting attention. As per the report published in Country Living , research by Pet Munchies and K9 Magazine found that almost two thirds of dog owners say their pets use a certain ‘look’ to communicate their needs, instead of barking, whining or nudging their owners.

About the Study 

The team behind the study asked 1,100 dog owners about how they interact with their four-legged friends. While it’s not uncommon for dogs to use ‘puppy eyes’ to get what they want, the study also found that dogs can use intense eye contact when they are expressing their concern over the welfare of humans. K9 Magazine publisher Ryan O’Meara, who also owns three dogs, said: “Learning how to ‘talk dog’ is extremely important. It’s crucial to understand what our dogs are trying to tell us when they communicate with us. “One of the ways dogs have always communicated with humans is through studying our eyes. Over the decades, dogs have learnt to learn to judge our mood and character, for example, by staring at us.

Friendly Gaze Works 

This is a dog’s way of trying to actually talk to us. They know we will understand what they are trying to tell us because as our relationships with dogs have evolved, we have learnt to read their signals as well as they read ours.” Ryan also explains that dogs are indeed incredibly smart and have used their eyes for decades as a clever way to get what they want from humans. “Over the years, they’ve extended how they talk to us using their gaze with the evolution of the ‘puppy dog eyes’ look, which is designed to pull on our heartstring by mimicking the wide-eyed look of babies.”    

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