Dogs’ Gazing Behavior to Humans Is Related to Their Liveliness, Aggressiveness, and the Emotional Comfort They Provide

Dogs use gazing behavior to communicate with humans. This study explored how family dogs differ in their gazing behavior in an uncertain situation and how these differences relate to personality, emotional comfort, and breed. We observed 171 dogs responding to a novel stimulus—a remote-controlled toy car—and analyzed how often they looked at their owner or the experimenter in one minute. Based on this behavior, dogs were grouped into four clusters. Dogs that gazed 6–7 times at each human partner were rated as less aggressive than those that gazed only 2–3 times. They were also perceived as less lively than dogs that gazed 10–12 times at each partner. Additionally, dogs gazing more frequently at the owner than at the experimenter were reported to provide more emotional comfort to their owners, such as making them feel loved. Breed differences also emerged, with German shepherd dogs more likely to be low gazers compared to golden retrievers. Interestingly, a dog’s age, sex, or willingness to approach the toy car did not affect their gazing behavior. These findings deepen our understanding of how dogs communicate with humans and the factors influencing this behavior, which can improve training, strengthen bonds, and enhance canine welfare.

Scatter plot of the number of gazes at the owner and the experimenter variables, colored by clusters.

Original publication: Kubinyi, E., Sommese, A., Gácsi, M., & Miklósi, Á. (2025). Dogs’ Gazing Behavior to Humans Is Related to Their Liveliness, Aggressiveness, and the Emotional Comfort They Provide. Animals, 15(4), 483. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15040483