Content
- How do dogs communicate with people?
- Dog looking at me while I sleep: what does it mean?
- Why is your dog looking at you?
Have you ever woken up and found your dog looking at you? Many guardians claim that their dogs are looking at them while they sleep or even when they are awake, but... what is the reason for this behavior?
If this happened to you too, don't miss this PeritoAnimal article, where we'll explain why is my dog watching me while i sleep?
How do dogs communicate with people?
Over the years, dogs have developed different ways to communicate with us. In this sense, the eyes as a whole (eyelids, eyeballs, pupils and muscles that allow them to move) play a very important role. They are a very obvious and efficient way to communicate to your tutor the emotions you feel.
The dimensions that the eyes adopt (wide open and round, even smaller and oblique) are the product of a voluntary act of the individual through the movement of all the muscles that surround the eyes. These muscles, known as the eyelid muscle group, are responsible for the different shapes the eyes can take. It is a completely voluntary act on the part of the animal that, according to its mood, will move the different muscles of the group mentioned above, this whole process being conducted through the dog's central nervous system.
With respect to pupils, that's another story. The larger or smaller diameter of the pupil that a dog can have in its eyes does not depend on it, at least voluntarily. A dog cannot decide "I will dilate my pupils". This is something that happens due to internal processes motivated by the emotional moment that is happening and managed by the dog's autonomic nervous system.
This combination of eyelids and pupils together with the different positions of the ears and lips is what we call facial communication and it gives us the best idea of the dog's emotional state. This facial or gestural communication added to all the expressions of bodily communication that a dog makes, which with a little will, practice and patience can be understood when our dog “talks” to us.
For more information, see this other article on how dogs communicate? and don't miss the following video about dog language:
Dog looking at me while I sleep: what does it mean?
dogs have a protective instinct very developed, so they can "stand guard" when they feel that we are in a very vulnerable situation, such as when we go to the bathroom or, in this case, while we sleep.
You've probably noticed that your dog lies down beside you when you go to rest, or that he's around vulnerable people, such as babies or the elderly. Even if he doesn't stare at you, staring at you, your dog stays close to you or other people he considers "weak" because this is his way of protecting you from possible harm and demonstrating that loves you.
Why is your dog looking at you?
Now, what if you're not sleeping and your dog still stares at you? What does his look mean on these occasions? It may be for these reasons:
- Does not understand you: it is very easy for a dog to communicate with another, but with people it becomes more complicated, as most of the time they do not understand what we are saying, and it is in this situation where the animal, somewhat perplexed by the lack of understanding of your human companion, stares at you. The animal enters a state of confusion where it does not understand the situation well, and it is then that, between perplexed and confused, it insists on continuing to try to make itself understood.
- watch what you do: it may also happen that you simply have a dog watching you intently trying to understand the type of activity you are doing.
- Look for your eye contact: if the dog is also interested in performing some physical activity with its partner, such as playing, going for a walk or simply if it's past mealtime, the dog will more insistently seek eye contact with its tutor to ensure that the latter understands what he is “saying” and acting accordingly. In other words, in this situation we have a dog looking to "ask" something.
- warning look: this other kind of dog look cannot be ruled out. When there is a situation of conflict between dog and guardian, the animal's gaze will mean something more than a call to attention. In this case, looking at your partner is mainly to convey your anger. Staring is one way to avoid major conflicts between puppies. It is a challenge where strengths are measured and when one of the two participants understands that the other is in a superior or advantageous position, he accepts this situation and lowers his gaze. At that point, the potential conflict ends without the thing needing to go any further. Almost always when a dog stares at its guardian in certain circumstances and, also evaluating the other communicational parameters of the dogs, it can be inferred that it is the prelude to an aggressive behavior by the animal towards its caregiver with the relevant consequences.
In short, there are many reasons why we have a dog looking to its human companion, but always the animal's main motivation is to communicate with its esteemed life companion.
Now that you know why the dog keeps looking at you in different situations, maybe you might be interested in this other article in which we explain why my dog licks my hands.
If you want to read more articles similar to Why is my dog watching me while I sleep?, we recommend that you enter our Basic Education section.