Body language explained

PART 5: THE EYES

Adog’s eyes are definitely a window into his soul. Infact, ‘puppy dog eyes’ are evolution’s way of ensuring that we shower our canine companions with love, food and attention. Dogs pretty quickly learn that by staring at us we’ll provide them with treats or cuddles, and predictably those stares become more frequent over time!

CONTENT EYES

You can usually tell if your dog is content just by looking to their eyes. Their eyelids are usually relaxed and a little bit closed, and their gaze is soft. When they are feeling confident, they will hold eye contact for longer.

SUBMISSIVE OR ANXIOUS EYES

In contrast when your dog is feeling submissive or anxious, they tend to look away and might even give you the ‘side eye’. Some circles call these glances ‘whale eye’ or ‘moon eye’ because the whites of the dog’s eyes are visible.

THREATENED OR ANGRY EYES

If you notice the softness disappear from your dog’s eyes, and see them fix their gaze into a stare, something is probably wrong. If they’re facing a person, a dog or another animal head on they may be trying to assert their dominance.

REMEMBER

It is important to remember that no one body part gives you the whole picture. Look to the rest of your dog’s body language to best ascertain what is going on. Next issue we’ll be looking at what the ears can tell us about our canine companion’s emotions.