Dog Trainer Explains Why Dogs Stare at Their Humans
Do you ever wonder what your dog is thinking or trying to tell you when they stare at you? Dogs use their tails, ears, and bodies to communicate with us, but they also use their eyes, too. Five by Five Canine is a certified dog trainer, and she shared a video on Tuesday, January 8th explaining why your dog sometimes sits in front of you and stares at you.
The video starts with the trainer examining a video of a dog mom and her dog interacting. The dog is staring at mom intently, meaning she's trying to communicate something to her mom. The trainer goes on to explain that there are other clues going on as well, check out her ears, head tilts, vocalizations, and tail wags...they are all trying to clue mom in on what it is that she wants.
Pretty cool, right? When your dog stares at you intently, they're asking you to pay attention to other clues they're offering about what they want. Her ears were pointing to the gate, as was her head. She kept looking at the gate, almost as if she was willing her mom to look at the gate, too. As a dog owner, knowing these signals can really help you understand what your dog is trying to communicate with you, and that's such an amazing thing!
Related: Dogs' Pitiful Staring As Mom Leaves the House Is Every Pet Parent's Heartbreak
Ways That Dogs Try To Communicate
Like me, commenters were blown away by some of the things that @Five by Five Canine pointed out. @EM was in shock and got more than 60 thousand likes when they shouted, "EXCUSE ME dogs POINT with their EARS? Like deliberately? Bro this is life changing!" @gg_communications added, "These are so helpful. I feel terrible for dogs because I'm realizing they are rarely understood." And the dog in the video's mom chimed in. @Gestalts Gift Bouquet shared, "Thank you SOOOOO much for this. She's saying "MOMMMM I WANT TO GO ON MY CAR RIDES"!!! Lol"! So the trainer was right about her wanting something on the other side of the gate!
So how else do dogs communicate? We were all so excited to learn that they point using their ears and head nods, but what else do they do? It's been proven that dogs do use those puppy eyes to let you know when they want something, just like kids do! Dogs also use their tails - think about the different wags your dog has. Sometimes it's fast, sometimes they tuck it, and sometimes it might be a slow wag. These all have different meanings, much like different smiles portray different feelings. They use their voices to communicate and sometimes try to "talk". They use body language (laying on their backs show trust while laying at your feet on their bellies can show comfort or that they're being submissive.) And of course, you know that your dogs have different barks for different things that go on...a playful one, a forceful one, and one that establishes dominance to name a few.
When you think about it, dogs communicate with us so much! If you do a little research, it's easy to find all their different tells, and you'll be having "conversations" with your dog before you know it!
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