I have a little Maltese male dog.
He is very affectionate and compliant, a real lap dog.
There is one thing he does which puzzles me. He stares at me quite often.
Even when he's on my lap while we're riding in the car, he turns his head
and looks straight into my eyes and holds the stare. What does this stare
mean? What is he trying to communicate?
---Sea

"~~seadancer~~" wrote in message
...

There is one thing he does which puzzles me. He stares at me quite
often. Even when he's on my lap while we're riding in the car, he
turns his head and looks straight into my eyes and holds the stare.
What does this stare mean? What is he trying to communicate?

It's impossible to guess, not having seen the behavior in person. Some
dogs feel threatened or challenged by a direct stare. Others seek out
eye contact as a form of communication. It depends on the situation,
the breed, the individual dog, and the human(s) involved.

I have a Boxer, and the breed is one that tends to seek out human eye
contact. That doesn't mean that my dog doesn't sometimes find it
challenging or even threatening with other people, but with me she will
seek out and hold eye contact.

As for what it means, that depends. Often, it's just a way to touch
base with me. Other times she wants to go for a walk, eat, play, tattle
on the cat, complain about outside animals, be petted...

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

Shelly wrote:

As for what it means, that depends. Often, it's just a way to touch
base with me. Other times she wants to go for a walk, eat, play, tattle
on the cat, complain about outside animals, be petted...

When my various dogs have stared at me, it usually has meant that they want
something. Especially at mealtime. Oppie, our current Svengali, does very
well with his one eye!

FurPaw
--
Why do people who embrace Social Darwinism object to teaching the theory of
evolution?

To reply, unleash the dog.

"FurPaw" wrote in message
. ..

When my various dogs have stared at me, it usually has meant that they
want something. Especially at mealtime.

Oh yeah. Harriet has a whole repertoire of pointed stares. She also
stares for no discernable purpose, with relaxed, soft eyes. I interpret
that as "touching base." It's very companionable and nice, like a "And
how's it going with you?"

Oppie, our current Svengali, does very well with his one eye!

He's channeling the power of two eyes into one. You are *so* screwed!

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

~~seadancer~~ wrote:
I have a little Maltese male dog.
He is very affectionate and compliant, a real lap dog.
There is one thing he does which puzzles me. He stares at me quite often.
Even when he's on my lap while we're riding in the car, he turns his head
and looks straight into my eyes and holds the stare. What does this stare
mean? What is he trying to communicate?
---Sea



I grew up with border collies. They had/have varying tolerances for
direct eye contact but none of them were comfortable with a prolonged
stare once they were past puppyhood.

When my sister got her Norwichs she was surprised that they seemed to
enjoy eye contact and would look her in the in the eyes for as long as
she was willing. She also reported that they seemed to actually watch TV.

When I got my JRT I found that he was and is very relaxed about direct
eye contact. If I stare at one of the BCs, after just a few seconds
they will leap up and run to pick up a toy - diffusing social tension, I
think. If I stare at the JRT he takes it as an invitation to come over
and get some petting.

I think I've posted this link before, but it's an interesting article
about the differences in dogs' eyes.

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s953902.htm

"FurPaw" wrote in message:

When my various dogs have stared at me, it usually has meant that they
want
something. Especially at mealtime. Oppie, our current Svengali, does
very
well with his one eye!

Pan holds eye contact when she wants something or when she's trying to guilt
me into something, and she holds eye contact just because. She's very into
her people, so I just see it as her way of making a connection. Khan, who
is far less into people, won't hold eye contact unless he feels it is
required of him - meal times, treats, when he really, really wants something
and thinks this is the ticket, never just because.

Suja

P.S. Can't tell from the post whether the dog is in the lap of someone in
the front seat, or the driver's lap, but your dog is FAR more likely to come
out of an accident unscathed if he is either in a seatbelt of his own, or in
a crate anchored in the back of the car.

Kathleen wrote:

I think I've posted this link before, but it's an interesting article
about the differences in dogs' eyes.

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s953902.htm

That's fascinating! I wonder how motion sensitivity in the periphery and
color vision vary between dogs with a visual streak and those with an area
centralis.

FurPaw

--
Why do people who embrace Social Darwinism object to teaching the theory of
evolution?

To reply, unleash the dog.

"Shelly" said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Often, it's just a way to touch
base with me. Other times she wants to go for a walk, eat,
play, tattle on the cat, complain about outside animals, be
petted...

Yup. Rocky stares at me when he wants to eat. The remaining
hour of the day, he stares at me to go outside.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

Thanks to all for your replies.
Yes, our dog does stare for different reasons, but I think
that, at times, one of the main reasons is, as you've said,
that he wants to "touch base" and simply "make a connection".
It's such a sweet gesture. We named him correctly: "Romeo". (g)

I enjoyed the article about different dogs' eyes:
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s953902.htm
Interesting info about the shorter nosed dogs. It says:
[They] "see in much higher definition than other dogs.
So when they’re looking at the owners face and different
nuances of the owners expressions maybe they’re getting a bit
more information than a long nose dog. This is perhaps a way
of explaining how attentive and charming short nosed dogs are."

Mine is surely attentive and charming! (g) ===
http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL224.../330406485.jpg
http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL224.../330406478.jpg

Thanks too for the warning about the safety of dogs riding
in cars. We have an unanchored crate on the back seat of
the car but our Maltese is now used to sitting on my lap in
the front passenger seat. I realize this isn't safe for him.
But he's so spoiled now that it's going to be hard for him
to adjust to a change. I know it would be best for him though.

Thanks again.
---Sea