By Linda Carroll - NBC News
If you've ever wondered why some dogs seem eager to make eye contact with people and others don't, a new study offers some clues.
Young or playful snub-nosed dogs
and those that have been bred to respond to visual cues, such as shepherd breeds, are the most likely to look directly into the eyes of humans, the researchers concluded.
And it is that loving eye contact with a dog that can help create a close bond with humans.
"Eye contact is a very important signal for us humans," says study lead author Zsófia Bognár, a researcher in the ethology department and member of the Senior Family Dog project at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary. "It can improve communication, cooperation and the relationship between the dog and its owner," he added. The study was published Thursday in the journal
Nature Scientific Reports
.
While some dogs
naturally seek eye contact
, that doesn't mean others can't learn, Bognár says in an email.
"Although eye contact between dogs and humans can be affected by at least four independent traits on the part of dogs, it does not mean that these are the only aspects that determine their relationship with the dog," he added.
Other studies have shown that humans and dogs benefit from closing their eyes: levels of oxytocin, the bonding hormone, increase in both species when they make and maintain eye contact.
[This dog rescued from a shelter saved the life of one of its owners]
To explore what factors might make eye contact more likely, Bognár and his colleagues
rounded up 125 family dogs
for the behavior experiment.
All the dogs underwent a series of tests, which began with the dogs meeting an unknown experimenter.
In a later part of the series, the dogs were invited to play with the experimenter.
Dogs such as Boxers, Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, and Pugs have differently structured eyes than other dogs.Meredith Bennett-Smith / NBC News
The tenth test evaluated the willingness of the dogs to make eye contact with their new human friends.
One person stood in the center of a lab room with a bag of food tied to his belt,
called out to the dog, and threw a piece of sausage on
the floor when the dog arrived.
The experimenter then stood still and waited for the dog to make eye contact with her and then rewarded him with another piece of sausage.
The researchers counted how many times each dog made eye contact in five minutes.
[A dog stops traffic to help its owner while she has a seizure]
Short-headed dogs, such as Boxers, Bulldogs, French Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, and Pugs, have that serious look because their
eyes are structured differently
from other dogs;
they have more retinal ganglion cells, responsible for the initial processing of visual information in the center of their visual fields, the researchers note.
That means they can more easily focus on what they have in front of them, like human owners.
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Dogs with long snouts
have eyes that are more oriented to peripheral vision
, that is, to see what they have next to them, rather than what they have in front of them, explains Bognár.
Puppies and playful canines were also the most likely to stare into their owners' eyes.
Working or herding dogs are natural, because they are bred to "perform their tasks alongside humans," says Bognár.
"They are in continuous eye contact with their owner or trainer," he added.
Companion dogs that
do not seek eye contact naturally
can be trained to do so.
[The Miami Heat once again have games with the public with the help of dogs that detect COVID-19]
"You can improve your dog's predisposition to make eye contact, which could also improve their relationship," he says.
Katherine Houpt, Professor Emeritus of Animal Behavioral Medicine at Cornell University, says it's a good idea to
train your dog
to make eye contact.
"Because if you say 'look' and the dog looks you in the eye, he's not focused on the passing car or another dog that he wants to chase," says Houpt, "you'll have more control over him, as well as a better relationship." .
"
It's so easy to train a dog
to do it," says Houpt, "you hold a piece of food away from you. Most, if they don't get what they want, they'll look at you. As soon as they do, you say 'look.' and you give them the food. After about 20 times, it becomes an order. "
[A dog steals the microphone from a journalist who was broadcasting live]
Eye contact is important to humans, says Anne Burrows, an evolutionary anatomy specialist and professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
"I'm a volunteer at a dog shelter," she said, "and those who don't make eye contact do
n't go very fast
."