Dogs and" eye-language"

Your dog is sending you messages with his eyes e.g the Gray Wolves adapted gaze signals to help them hunt in packs. According to a Japanese study your dog is communicating with his canine friends and foes using his eyes alone. The fact is some of his facial features may be designed specifically for that purpose, including the coloring around his eyes, the shape of the eyes, and the color and shape of the iris and pupil. These are all elements of the canine eye-based communication system. Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology at Kyoto University in Japan compared 25 different types of canines and separated them into 3 groups based on their facial coloration and gaze: • Group A... species with clearly visible pupils and eye position (example: gray wolf) • Group B... species with clearly defined eye placement but camouflaged pupils (fennec fox) • Group C... species with fully camouflaged eyes and pupils (bush dog) The researchers theorize that the species in Group A adapted “gaze signals” to help them hunt in packs and live cooperatively in groups. Group B canines, including foxes, only use eye communication some of the time. The all-dark eyes of animals in Group C, such as bush dogs, blend in with their facial coloring. According to the researchers, it is typical of various types of predators to obscure their eyes to improve their hunting prowess. (If a prey animal can’t tell where his predator is looking, he can’t predict what might happen next.) The researchers speculate that the whites of the eyes (sclera) of the Group A canines evolved to amplify the appearance of the darker iris and pupil. This applies to wolves, dogs, and also humans. According to the researchers, gaze communication may be a very useful tool for other canines as well, including the family dog. Prior studies have shown that domestic dogs are more likely to make direct eye contact with humans than wolves raised in the same environment. Continue