Why you can't resist your pet's "puppy dog eyes"
The science behind our compulsion to give our dogs anything they desire.
The science behind our compulsion to give our dogs anything they desire.
April 6, 2023
There’s a reason “how to stop my dog begging at the table” yields 12.3 million search results on Google! Our dogs are highly skilled at using their good looks and charm to get what they want from us…and much of the time, that’s food!
That yearning look, those big deep round eyes…how can you say no to that face?!
Every dog owner knows the look, and there are strong drivers behind the scenes that make it nearly impossible to resist!
Dogs have co-evolved with humans for over 30,000 years. As a species, they have adapted perfectly to getting what they want from their loving benefactors (that’s us). In this article, we take a look at how they developed the uncanny ability to get whatever they want from us!
Early canine cognition tests initially indicated that dogs were less intelligent than wolves. However it turned out that many of the tests were misled by the fact that the dogs, unlike wolves, were looking to the human researchers for direction. They were factoring us in as intelligent tools to help them solve problems, they knew that watching us was the best short-cut to working out how to do something. You can’t say that isn’t smart!!
This intelligence came about from being an animal that has lived with and depended on humans for so long. From ancient times, we have been the provider of so many resources and so their focus has shifted to us. Dogs learned long ago that the real gold wasn’t just scavenging resources from our dumps, but actually us and what we could do for them - something the likes of seagulls and rats haven’t figured out, evident by them still being in dumps and not our homes.
Dogs can read us, learn from us and ask us for things - powerfully intelligent strategies. The centre of their intelligence is their sociability and ability to connect with us.
This is why they work so harmoniously in our lives and are so trainable, they are programmed to seek our direction and follow our guidance.
So they know they want our help…how were they able to get it?
Dogs self-domesticated (adapted to us without selective breeding initially) across a period of 30-40,000 years, and we now understand the main attribute that drove their domestication was friendliness and cooperation with us. Survival of the friendliest.
The attributes humans respond to best are puppy like behaviours, as we find them more attractive and cute as well as safe and easy to live with. Dogs are effectively puppy-ised wolves (called neoteny) - must be why we call them “puppy” dog eyes! Interestingly, humans compared to other primates also show juvenile traits well into adulthood. So we are like dogs in that way!
Soliciting is a key puppy attribute, as pups needed to solicit food from the pack elders when they came back from the hunt. Pups would stimulate the elders to regurgitate their food by licking their jowls, pawing and giving lots of subtle “asking” behaviours.
Soliciting like this is the only way to get food as a pup, it is their primary way of surviving, and they need to be good at it! Given their juvenile qualities, dogs (like wolf pups) are very good at soliciting what they need from their modern human pack elders. They do this primarily through eye contact, pawing, head tilting, licking and solicitous barking.
Wolves find it hard to hold eye contact as they see it as threatening, but the dog’s evolution to be friendly to humans and to solicit what they need from us means they are much more comfortable holding eye contact with those people they love and trust.
When we gaze into our dog’s eyes, oxytocin is released in BOTH ours and our dog’s brains at high levels. This is the hormone of love and bonding, it gives you that warm fuzzy feeling of connection. Research shows that even just looking at a picture of a puppy elicits this response, in similar levels to what mothers experience when they look at their own children.
Aside from being more puppy-like than wolves, we have also selected dogs for more and more human baby-like attributes. We see this in its most extreme form in breeds like pugs and King Charles spaniels and many others - the eyes are large and round, and the face is getting flatter like our babies. Even the colour of dogs' eyes have gone from agate in wolves (largely) to the softer and more human-like colours of brown and sometimes even blue. Dogs’ pupils dilate like ours do when we see someone we like or love too.
We are suckers for these attributes, then add in the other “soliciting behaviours” like begging, paw raising, head tilts and licking (the various ways dogs “ask” for things) and we are putty in their paws. All and all it’s a very attractive and alluring package.
Not only that, just look at the role dogs play in our society. Dogs are hunters, helpers and protectors, they help with search and rescue, and crime scene investigation. They work stock on farms and do pest control, they’re involved in bio-security and drug control, they’re a HUGE support to many people living with disabilities and mental health conditions. But above all, they’re exceptional family companions.
It’s without a doubt one of the most special inter-species relationships to exist.
So when they “ask” for something by staring deep into our eyes, it’s hard for us to resist - and no wonder!! They might be wanting cuddles or play, but more often than not it’s FOOD (the most powerful natural driver).
Gentle eye contact between a human and a dog is very special and important. It enhances your dog’s trusting bond with you, which in turn leads to much better behaviour (as they look to you for direction).
However! The danger can come when you find it hard to resist your dog’s beautiful puppy dog eyes, particularly when it comes to food. A significant number of foods that are safe for humans, pose a risk for dogs, so it’s incredibly important to understand which foods are safe to share and which aren’t as we can easily be sucked into feeding them whatever we are eating!
A survey by Southern Cross Pet Insurance found that one in three pets are at risk of getting sick or worse because their owners accidentally share human foods and drinks that are toxic to dogs and cats. Nearly 40% of New Zealanders don’t know that raisins are unsafe for pets, over 50% don’t know avocado is unsafe and around 35% didn't realise you shouldn’t feed your pet garlic and onions either!
Plus, over 60% of respondents said they feed their pet leftovers from their plate.
With stats like this, many pet owners will be accidentally feeding their pets harmful foods!
It’s essential to learn which foods you can and can’t give to your pet, and to resist those irresistible eyes when things aren’t safe. It’s never worth the risk.
Southern Cross Pet Insurance has come up with a genius concept to help us all recognise foods that are dangerous for our pets! They’ve created Paws Off! - a warning symbol to let us know when foods aren’t safe to share.
So if you see this cute wee symbol, keep your treats to yourself and be vigilant about where you store those foods to make sure your dog can’t access them.
Also remember to think about all the ingredients that have gone into a meal if you’re planning to share leftovers with your pet - unsafe ingredients like onions and garlic can sneak into many of our favourite meals (spaghetti bolognaise, I’m looking at you…).
If you’re involved in food production, get on board and display the Paws Off! warning symbol when your products aren’t safe for pets! You’ll be helping keep our furry family members safe from serious harm. It is free for anybody to use, anywhere around the world! Go to pawsoff.co.nz to download it for packaging, signs and menus.
If you want to see your favourite brands support your furry friend by including a Paws Off! label, tag them in my latest Facebook post here.
If your dog is more in the pawing, jumping or barking camp when they want something from you, here’s how you can train them to sit and “bond gaze” up at you instead.
I call this ‘Zen Sit’ and you can teach even very young pups right through to adult dogs how to do this instead of jumping up etc (which most people don’t like so much!).
If you practise this often enough, it will become part of your dog’s automatic way to politely “ask” you for something. I recommend using a clicker to mark the behaviour you want as it makes training much faster. If you don't have a clicker, use a ‘yes’ command in a positive tone of voice in place of the click.
To teach this:
You will love the effects of this training and how quickly it develops the bond in both of you – gazing into each other’s eyes is a great oxytocin producer!
Even if you’re already clued up on which foods aren’t good for your pet, don’t forget to support the Paws Off! campaign so we can help ALL dog owners look after their furry friends.
This content was created in partnership with Southern Cross Pet Insurance.
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