I’ve noticed this with some other animals too, but my dogs look me in the eye, even if I’m not talking. Is there just some inate understanding even in domesticated animals that the eyes are the “window to the soul” or something?
Well, it’s possible that the dog is simply staring at your face, and because of the distance, it seems he’s looking into your eyes. Even if he is, I wouldn’t necessarily attatch too much significance to it.
Most likely, your dog is watching for cues. Dogs rely heavily on body language, and human faces are very expressive. A dog can learn your mood by watching your facial expressions-- he can see if you’re tense or angry, or if you’re relaxed and calm.
Often, when you catch your dog watching you, you may not realize it, but your body tenses slightly and goes very still. The dog notices that, and is waiting to see what your next action will be. The dog stares at you intently, because he knows that you’ve been alerted in some way. When you’re just watching TV, the dog probably glances at you from time to time to see what you’re doing, but can see that you’re perfectly relaxed. This changes when you catch him looking at you.
Remember, too, that dogs and cats are both hunters, and when you’re stalking your prey, whether your target sees you or not is an important piece of information. It’s not really surprising that evolution would have produced a “watch their eyes” instinct in hunting critters.
Cats certainly are reputed to use their eyes to communicate with each other. Large pupils = fear or aggression, blinking = trust or compliance, and probably various other signals of which we’re not aware. Since most domestic cats view their owner as another (albeit huge and hideously deformed) cat, then it’s not surprising they’ll look you in the eyes.
Humans have an innate ability to see faces, and although this is just a guess, I would guess most or all complex animals do. The reasons for this are numerous and obvious:
- To bond with the mother at birth.
- To communicate.
- To see preditors/prey ASAP.
- To determine if the preditor/prey can see you or is paying attention to you.
Consider such things as eye patterns on moths, peacocks, caterpillars, etc.
Consider that the shape of the eye is similar in all species, and that with bi-lateral symetry you can tell everything you need to know about the orientation of an animal by seeing both of its eyes. In many preditor/prey situations, the only tell-tale sign might be seeing a single eye.
Several years ago, I bought a new window air conditioner. After I installed it, one of my cats came into the room, and just sat there, staring at it for about 20 minutes. The unit was not on, so he wasn’t just enjoying the breeze. A while later the other cat came in and did the same thing. Then I noticed the two circular areas that the cold air blew out of. They looked just like eyes.
Knowing when another animal is looking at you just seems to me to be a really useful evolutionary trick. Not just prey, but things like the lead dog staring you down. Ever notice that if you stare down a dog it will either look away or growl? Staring is dominant. It’s agressive. Dogs have a lot of staring contests.
I know domesticated dogs are capable of gaze following, which most other animals can’t do. They’ve learned to look humans in the face to get additional information about their environment.
Also, for instance, if you present chimps or wolves with an unsolvable problem, say food they can’t get at, they’ll continue to work at it anyway. Dogs will quickly look at a human’s face for help.
My dog watches my eyes to determine if I’m looking at the counter where his dog treats are kept.
He watches my hands to see if I’m reaching over to the place on the wall where the leash is kept.
He watches my feet to see if I’m putting on my shoes to go outside.
According to Heinlein: Never try to outstare a cat.
Well, you got this idea from somewhere. And you sure didn’t get it from any scientific evidence. Why wouldn’t a dog or cat draw a similar conclusion, for similar reasons?