Why do dogs stare?

punkchica321

I don't think it's a 'dominance' thing because it's not where he's waiting to stare me down when I'm looking at him

You are right, it's not. If it was believe me you could tell the difference like if it's night and day, dominance on humans it's more rare than what people think. Your dog looks at you because you are "interesting", you are the source of food, fun activities, going out etc. Your dog is waiting to see what fun thing you are going to do next that could include him and he does not want to miss it. My dog, if he is not in his kennel, has a really light sleep as he does not want to miss anything fun that i could be doing without him.

 Tootsie, always rests with her eyes on me. So she can get up quickly if need be.

 Yeah that makes sense. Though I figured out why Simba was staring for so long last night, he had to GO! He usually whines when he has to go out but I guess he was expecting me to know. :P Only would I get up for him at 3 in the morning and stand outside getting drenched by darn sprinklers so he could pee. Haha.

He's just aware that you are the source of good stuff in his life, and that it's a good idea to keep your eye on mom! I swear my guys sleep with one eye (and ear, and nostril......) open, as they are always so aware of what I am doing.

Some breeds/mixes, too, will naturally stare more often than others, due to breeding histories and what the dog was meant to do.

Kim_MacMillan

He's just aware that you are the source of good stuff in his life, and that it's a good idea to keep your eye on mom! I swear my guys sleep with one eye (and ear, and nostril......) open, as they are always so aware of what I am doing.

Some breeds/mixes, too, will naturally stare more often than others, due to breeding histories and what the dog was meant to do.

Dead on.  If you've ever owned any of the herding breeds, you know that they have their eyes on you all the time.  Dogs really don't try to "dominate" humans.  Rather, they are interesting in obtaining resources.  Just as they would with another dog, they can be pushy or insistent, or obnoxious, but it isn't because they want to rule, it's because they want to breed, eat, drink, sniff, or lie on an important resting spot.  The dog that is truly aggressive with humans is very rare, thankfully.  All of which does not mean that a dog won't stare to threaten.  That's what they would do to another dog to fend off an assault on a favored resource (my dog will do that to another dog who comes too close when she has her tennis ball in her mouth - again, a resource).  In most cases, dogs keep their eyes on us to interpret what we do (because we are the bearers of all good things) - after all, their first language is body language.  So, it makes sense that they think we communicate in the same way sometimes.  Which, of course, we do.  It's one of the reasons why newbies to dog training can't understand why their dogs lie down when they wanted them to sit.  Often, it's because the person made a statement with their body language that the dog interpreted as "down," regardless of what the human said verbally.

spiritdogs

 If you've ever owned any of the herding breeds, you know that they have their eyes on you all the time.

LOL no kidding!  I was thinking, the only time Nikon isn't staring at me is if he's sleeping or I've intentionally put some distance between us (rest time in the crate or putting the dogs outside for a while to just be dogs).

 Yep, I get comments all the time "they are so focused on you!" That's partly a breed thing and partly because all good things typically happen with me. I think it makes for a much easier dog to train because they aren't as distracted by their surroundings as dogs who aren't so focused on their owners.

spiritdogs

Dead on.  If you've ever owned any of the herding breeds, you know that they have their eyes on you all the time. 

Anne, you nailed it! I swear Tootsie has a sixth sense, concerning my next move.

I think the "stressy element" is easily avoided by not staring - but, rather, looking at them with "squinty eyes" and "open mouth with tongue out" in conjunction with a soft, or "curvy" body posture on your part.  Most dogs will recognize "happy face" versus "threat face" even on a human - learn *all* the language you can and the communication gets better.  I don't spend a whole lot of time looking at my dogs, but the girls still spend an inordinate amount of time looking at me.  The hound - not so much lol.  He couldn't care less where I am unless it's time to go out, or eat.  Self-serving independent hunter:-)))