The dog is not allowed to make eye contact. Possible problems: the dog does not make eye contact. How to avoid dog attacks, given the knowledge of dog psychology

Sometimes it seems that dogs know how to use their eyes to get what they want, for example, plaintively inquiring with their eyes in the hope that the owner will give a piece of delicacy.

Eye contact is not a natural behavior for dogs. In the animal kingdom, eye contact is interpreted as a threat, and animals try to turn their heads to the side to avoid direct eye contact with another individual, especially a dominant one. This behavior can also be observed when in contact with a person, for example, if the owner scolds the pet for making a mess in the room, the animal, according to the person, begins to feel guilty, taking a submissive posture and avoiding looking into the person’s eyes. This behavior of the animal is aimed at defusing the conflict situation and not bringing the matter to a fight.

Why do dogs make eye contact?

Dogs are supposed to make eye contact with humans for several reasons. One of the main versions is considered to attract attention and expect from a person the actions desired by the animal. The animal may have remembered a positive experience when eye contact helped get a tasty treat, go for a walk, or get the owner involved in the game.

Another reason why dogs make eye contact is to try to figure out what a person wants from an animal. Perhaps some pets, looking at the owner, are simply trying to understand his mood or show curiosity, because pets attached to the owner show interest in what the person is doing.

Research by Japanese scientists conducted in 2015 gave a completely unexpected answer to the question "Why do dogs look in the eyes?". It turns out that direct eye contact is a sign of affection and love for the owner. Studies have shown that dogs and humans produce the hormone oxytocin when they make eye contact with each other. This hormone is produced in females, which affects the recognition of their puppies by the mother, enhances attachment to them and maternal instinct. When a pet looks at his owner, he feels much better, feels comfortable, there is a similar bond between a parent and a child. Such eye contact is called "adoring gaze."

In a sense, eye contact is a reward for a dog. It is even recommended to make eye contact with your pet from a very early age, which will increase the level of trust, improve relationships with pets and achieve better parenting results.

How to understand the look of a dog

You can understand the mood of your pet by looking, although a more complete picture is given by a set of gestures, for example, the position of the tail and ears. But the look of a dog can also say a lot.

adoring look characterized by relaxation, the animal behaves calmly, and the eyes look pleased, narrow, taking an almond shape.

On the excitation, which often occurs during games, or surprise may indicate rounded eyes.

testing pain or anguish the animal looks askance with sad and languid eyes.

tension a pet can be understood by incredulous eyes, hardness of gaze, while the protein shell of the eye (sclera) is visible. This look can be observed when the pet is guarding his toy or does not want to be approached too close. In this state, the animal may bite.

About aggressive behavior the animal will tell a heavy and tracking look, while the animal does not blink. In this case, it is better to leave the dog, do not try to look into her eyes, so that she does not see the threat in a person.

Animals sometimes avoid eye contact, for example, if they are very submissive, not used to a person, they are afraid. But many pets look at people without expecting a threat from them, so if there are no other signs of aggression, there is no need to be afraid of a dog's gaze.

What goes on in a dog's head when it sits staring at its owner with a long, unblinking stare? Is the animal trying to master telekinesis, or transmitting information through the power of thought? Perhaps the dog is trying to tell his master how much he is attached to him? In any case, her large brown eyes can stare at a person indefinitely.

For some, such curiosity may seem like an annoying factor, but for most people this phenomenon does not carry a negative message. And now scientists have probably found the answer to our question. The Scientific American dubbed this phenomenon with the capacious phrase "looking through time." Dogs use all these seconds and minutes to read information from their owner's face.

Experiment with horses

The experiment, conducted by the staff of the University of Sussex, involved horses. The animal, which was watching a herd of relatives turning a corner, was confused at the moment when a lone horse passed towards it. But as soon as the scientists repeated the experiment, there was no confusion in the head of the experimental subject. Everything is familiar: the herd goes around the corner, a lone horse goes towards.

How does this work for dogs?

This experience can be applied to dogs. It turns out that our pets try to look at us for so long in order to catch a familiar intonation in a voice or facial expression.
In this way, our four-legged friends "read" human behavior, which allows them to understand us better.

Japanese researchers report that when people and their best four-legged friends look into each other's eyes, a biological mechanism is triggered that strengthens the bond between dog and person.

As it turned out, when a person and a dog maintain visual communication, the level of oxytocin (hormone) increases in the body of both the owner and the pet.

“People who call their dogs family members are absolutely right,” comments Dr. Greg Nelson of the Veterinary Association in Valley Stream, New York. “A dog is not just a sociable animal that takes food from the owner. You can say that the relationship of a person with a dog is either on an equal footing, or like that of parents and children.

Through a series of experiments, researchers have shown that dog-human communication causes a "biological loop" as biochemical reactions take place in both human and animal organisms.

“People have evolved and learned to use specific communication tools,” says one of the authors of the study, veterinarian Takefumi Kikusui (Takefumi Kikusui). “Glance can act as physical touches and hugs. The fact is that dogs can use a communicative look towards people too” .

Japanese researchers asked 30 friends and colleagues to come to the lab with their pets. In the first experiment, dogs and their owners interacted for 30 minutes. In the urine of those couples that spent most of this time looking into each other's eyes, higher concentrations of oxytocin were observed (in dogs - by 130%, in humans - by 300%). Couples who were forbidden to look into each other's eyes for a long time did not show such an increase in hormone levels. Owners who made eye contact with their pets were more likely to touch, stroke, and talk to them.

In a second experiment, the researchers sprayed oxytocin into the nostrils of 27 dogs and let them into a room with the owners and two strangers. As a result, bitches spent more time looking at their owners, who also had increased levels of oxytocin. Males made less eye contact with their owners, perhaps because oxytocin often increases hostility towards other group members in males. By the way, previous studies have shown that .

(photo by Jonathan Millard/Flickr).

However, when the first experiment was conducted with the participation of tamed wolves and their owners, no changes in the biochemistry of people and animals were noticed by scientists. This is probably because wolves perceive direct eye contact as a threat and avoid human gaze.

The results obtained indicate that eye contact between dog and owner as a form of social communication has most likely begun. This strengthened the bond between the two species.

"Dogs have evolved with humans as companions over the last 12,000 years," comments veterinarian Adam Malcolm. "So the physiological feedback based on the oxytocin cycle is not surprising."

In fact, these results are consistent with many previous studies that have shown that our four-legged friends .

Kikusui also said that while wolves do not stimulate the production of oxytocin in their owners, some other species do promote the production of this hormone in humans, such as cats. Scientists believe that this information can be used as confirmation of the effectiveness of canistherapy, which helps people undergoing medical and social rehabilitation with the help of animals.

Inspired by this study, the magazine's staff even launched an action: now everyone can send a photo of their pet to the address [email protected] or share it on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #upwardfacingdog. The picture should be taken from about the height of human growth and show the pet looking into the lens. The magazine's specialists (and, of course, dog owners) will select the best shots. Winners will receive a copy of the (fake) magazine cover with their pet's face.

When a person and a dog look into each other's eyes, their connection is strengthened, Japanese scientists have found. It's all about oxytocin, a hormone that helps form attachment (for example, in a mother to a newborn). Its level rises sharply when the dog and owner are in close visual contact.

Several experiments were carried out to prove this. In one of them, dogs and owners were deliberately left alone in a room for 30 minutes. Later, in those people and animals that looked into each other's eyes for more time, an increased concentration of oxytocin was found in the urine. It was also noted that during the experiment, these owners touched and talked to their pets more. And what could be more beautiful - for both dogs and people?

The same experiment was repeated with wolves raised by humans and very attached to their owners. But oxytocin stayed the same. The explanation followed: most likely, wolves, even domesticated ones, perceive eye contact primarily as a threat and often simply avoid looking people in the eye.

In addition, during the experiments, a "biological positive feedback" was found between dogs and their owners - an increase in the level of oxytocin in one causes an increase in the hormone in the other. “Looking into the eyes has become an important means of communication between humans over the course of human evolution,” explains co-author of the study, veterinarian Takefumi Kikusui of Azabu University Kanagawa in Japan. He suggests that in the process of domestication of dogs, eye to eye contact became a means of communication between the owner and his pet, which helped them to become attached to each other.

According to Kikusui, a similar effect can be found in cats. However, this assumption requires verification. It is known that in communication people look more at the right side of the face of the interlocutor, whose facial expressions are more expressive. Dogs are the only kind of pets that do the same.

book on the topic

The book "My Dog Loves Jazz" was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen International Gold Medal - and for good reason. The amazing stories of Marina Moskvina, in which the ordinary, familiar world is constantly turned upside down, are liked by both children and adults.

What is the benefit of oxytocin? It is produced in the hypothalamus and plays an important role in regulating various reactions and behaviors. Helps to form affection, recognize faces, regulates maternal instincts. It is known that dogs are often used for the rehabilitation of patients (including in psychotherapy): they help reduce anxiety and emotional stress. Treatment with the help of dogs is called canistherapy. Its effectiveness, many scientists explain the production of the hormone oxytocin.

See M. Nagasawa et al. for details. "Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds", Science , 2015.

Let's continue with the topic of dog attack, as well as methods of contraceptive protection, which should be followed

I recommend that you read it so as not to break the logical chain. It remains for us to finish what we started and consider the methods of protection that should be taken if the attacks of the dogs (and) still could not be avoided.

How to avoid dog attacks, given the knowledge of dog psychology

(continuation).

1. How does a dog perceive direct eye contact? Should you look your dog straight in the eye if it gets in your way?
   The question is ambiguous.
   On the one hand, in animal language, a direct eye-to-eye look means a challenge to battle. Moreover, the one who first averts his eyes, as it were, admits his defeat. It turns out that when meeting a dog with a direct look in the eyes, you can get moral superiority and force the four-legged to retreat. But this number, alas, may not pass. Moreover, it will harm the situation.
   Why? - Because this technique can only work with single yard dogs, which can consider you a dangerous opponent and retreat. If you are threatened by an attack by dogs of fighting breeds, then your direct look into the eyes will almost certainly provoke them to fight. It turns out that you substitute yourself. Conclusion: in my opinion, the best tactic in the emerging conflict with the dog is to avoid direct eye contact. Look a little to the side, without losing sight of the behavior of the quadruped. By doing this, you make it clear that you are not interested in a fight, which means you leave yourself a chance to avoid it.
2. Children are especially likely to be attacked by dogs. Children are noisy, restless, curious and do not understand that such behavior can provoke an animal to aggression. It is impossible to explain to a small child that the dog does not need to be stroked, thrown objects at it, or simply pointed pistols in its direction, etc. The result can be very deplorable.

Parents are required to:
limit the uncontrolled presence of children - especially during dog walking;
walking with a child, do not lose sight of him; dogs may appear suddenly; when four-legged animals appear nearby, take the child in your arms or be near him;
away, in nature, etc. places where there are dogs, even domestic ones, to exclude contact with them (read the statistics of bites in the previous part);
older children need to be taught that contact with a dog is best avoided; and in case of her attack, try not to scream, fall to the ground, curl up in a ball and cover her face with her hands;
if happened dog attack(especially fighting) on ​​a child - you should not try to pull him towards you to free him - this will only aggravate the situation and increase injuries; the best thing to do is to try to cover the dog with some kind of coverlet at hand, such as a coat, jacket, etc. or pour a bucket of water on the dog; use pepper spray.

Of course, it cannot be said that the knowledge and application of the described methods will completely protect you from dog teeth. But at least it will minimize the chance. And this is also not enough.

What to do if it happens dog attack?
Consider:

Basic methods of defense against dog attacks.

First of all, you should understand how dogs attack, and, based on this, build your defense.

Note: a dog that barks loudly at you is less dangerous - in this way it lets you know that you have invaded its territory and you should leave it.
More dangerous is a dog that attacks you silently and quickly - there is no need to build illusions - this is an attack.
When attacking, dogs almost always look at the point on your body where they intend to cling to. Having seized, the dog drags on itself.

Large dogs usually act in two ways:

• They try to knock their prey down by hitting it with their front paws in a jump. They hit either in the chest or in the lower back - depending on the angle of attack. After that, they already use their teeth, trying to cling to the throat. If the object of attack is not overturned, they bite on the legs and arms; trying to get around and attack from behind.
• When attacked, they try to simultaneously grab a person with their teeth and knock him to the ground.

Small dogs act in a similar way, but they may try not to knock you down, but jump on you to grab your throat.

1. To repel a dog attack, arm yourself with any available means that can be used for protection or for hitting - a bag, an umbrella, removed outerwear, a stick, etc. Take a stable posture. Lower your head down, covering your neck as much as possible. Tracking the dog's eyes, dodge jumps, at the same time use improvised means - beat or try to stick an object into the dog's mouth. At the same time, with your back, trying not to fall, retreat to a safe place where you can take cover. Note: Vulnerable points of dogs: muzzle, especially nose; tracheal area - under the jaw; region of the spine, starting from the base of the skull;
2. If improvised means are not available, and dog attack promptly, the following options can be recommended:

• hit the running dog with a strong kick, trying to get into the trachea, under the jaw; if it works out, there is a chance that they will leave you alone; although let's be aware that it's not easy to get to a given point of a moving dog;
• substitute a hand for a dog bite and then step forward to deprive the dog of support; if it is not a special fighting breed, then most likely it will release the grip to move away and repeat the attack; you can take advantage of this by trying to strike the quadruped in vulnerable places with your foot or fist;
• defending yourself by putting your hand up and letting the dog make a grab, with the thumb and forefinger of your free hand, grab it by the throat under the jaw in the trachea area - and squeeze it hard, causing pain and forcing you to retreat;
• when attacking from the front, if the dog aims at the throat - give it the opportunity to grab onto your hand, and then try to break its neck: grab the base of the skull with your free hand and pull it towards you and at the same time make a sharp movement away from you - in the direction upwards and sideways.

In general, it must be taken into account that each "miss" of the dog undermines its self-confidence, and each successful attack, on the contrary, spurs it on.