What does it mean when a dog avoids eye contact?
Lenny Ondricka
2025-07-07 08:36:48
Count answers
: 8
A classical example of this comes from people who tell their dogs off for something, and the dog looks away and very deliberately avoids eye contact when they do so. The handler in question reads this as the dog’s indication of guilt – when in fact the dog is submitting and trying to appease their owner as a yielding gesture, and not making an admission of guilt for a telling off they may not fully understand. Avoiding eye contact between dogs lets the other party know several things – it can tell them that they are not a threat, and/or that they yield to the other party. When a dog avoids eye contact, it can be read as a submissive gesture. Your dog should look away, and break eye contact as a sign of yielding. Evading eye contact when a dog initiates it may be read by the other dog as a submissive gesture.
Serena Waelchi
2025-06-25 12:55:19
Count answers
: 17
Our dogs will look directly at us if they trust us and feel at ease, but they will frequently turn their head or look away to show they are being non-confrontational. To a dog, however, maintaining eye contact is perceived as a challenge or a threat. Prolonged periods of eye contact can make a dog feel really worried. When talking to another human, eye contact is important, showing interest and engagement. Turning their head away from whatever is bothering or worrying them. Sometimes they will also close or partially close their eyes. Our dogs will look directly at us if they trust us and feel at ease, but they will frequently turn their head or look away to show they are being non-confrontational.
Aurelie Monahan
2025-06-25 12:21:28
Count answers
: 6
Dogs often bark when strangers make direct eye contact, but this behavior is not ideal. Dogs might interpret eye contact as a threat or challenge, particularly from strangers. They could also perceive it as an attempt to take away something valuable, such as a toy or treat. If a dog is staring with intense eyes and standing stiffly, it may mean they feel threatened or protective of their space. Another sign a dog is uncomfortable with eye contact is if they’re giving a person the scared dog eyes. When a dog is stressed, their eyes may look rounder or show a lot of white around the edges, which is sometimes called a “whale eye.” When a dog has dilated pupils, it can mean they are scared or excited. This can make their eyes look shiny and indicate that the dog is feeling threatened, stressed, or scared.
Deontae Green
2025-06-25 11:59:29
Count answers
: 7
When dogs first meet, friendly, well socialised dogs will greet each other from the sides and circle around each other, viewing each other side on and not staring directly at each other. Looking straight on at one another can be deemed to be a threatening behaviour, and in the majority of cases, one dog will soon break eye contact to avoid a potential stand-off or scuffle. Direct staring, rushing at a dog head-on or making steely eye contact are all rather rude, and also dominant cues to the other dog. A dog that is yielding submission to another dog will drop their eyes and possibly their whole head, to send the pronounced message to the other party that they are not looking at them and ergo, yield dominance to the other dog. If a dog refuses to look at another dog (or you) they are not being wilfully ignorant; they are actually displaying a very appeasing message and good manners by giving dominance to the other party. For instance, when you meet a new dog out and about that is a little shy, if the dog in time lets you stroke or pet them, they may well keep their head turned away from you while you do so, as if they are totally disinterested! However, they are simply allowing and probably enjoying your attentions, while letting you know that they accept that you are boss. Yet for dogs, direct eye contact is rude at best and taken as a challenge at worst, and so avoiding direct eye contact is considered to be the height of canine good manners.
Charles McKenzie
2025-06-25 08:48:36
Count answers
: 8
In many human cultures, eye contact is viewed as a way to make a connection and show interest, but for dogs, eye contact sends a different message. Seeing eye-to-eye is likely viewed by your dog as more of a threat than a measure of good will. Depending on the socialization your dog received as a puppy, her genetic predisposition and her experience before you adopted her, eye contact may actually be perceived as a significant enough threat to spark aggression. In the canine world, prolonged eye contact rarely occurs in friendly contexts; it is more commonly seen as a threat or challenge to another dog. Instead, you will more frequently see one dog turn his head away from another dog in order to avoid eye contact; this is an appeasement gesture designed to diffuse any potential conflict and avoid a fight. Unless she is taught that eye contact is OK, it is possible that she could progress from simply being skittish to biting. One study found that dogs are able to track human eye movement, which helps them perceive a person’s intent. Though direct eye contact may not be natural for dogs, canines will often learn that eye contact with people can result in good things, like attention and food.
Read also
- Why is eye contact important with dogs?
- Do dogs show love through eye contact?
- Why is eye contact important when communicating with others?
- Should you make eye contact with an aggressive dog?
- What dog breeds like eye contact?
- Do dogs care if you look them in the eye?
- Can dogs actually say "I love you"?
- Why does my dog look away when I talk to him?
- Should you make eye contact with a nervous dog?