Between 6 and 18 months, children begin to follow other people’s gaze with their eyes. In fact, it is something that we all do involuntarily: if we are talking to a person and they look in one direction, we will tend to do the same.
However, this reaction is not always appreciated; it is essential that there is a direct relationship between the two people, so that one of them captures the attention of the other and encourages them to look in a certain direction. Furthermore, it has been shown that when there is an emotional bond, this phenomenon is even more intense.
Well, now a group of Hungarian researchers took the phenomenon of visual tracking to try to answer the question that every dog owner must have asked themselves at some point: do the animals know that we are talking to them?
These researchers worked with 16 adult dogs and presented them with a video showing a person standing between two empty flower pots. These people greeted the dog and then looked towards one of the flower pots. Meanwhile, the researchers recorded the dog’s eye movements.
The trick was in the greeting that the person gave. In the case of ostensive communication, the classic way of greeting someone was used; that is, raising the voice, establishing direct eye contact, and using a happy tone. In the other case, non-ostensive communication was used; That is, the actor used the same words but spoke with a firm voice, without inflections, in a serious tone and avoiding eye contact.
If a person had to evaluate both types of greeting, they would say without a doubt that the first sequence implies the desire to establish direct contact but the second does not. Therefore, we ourselves would be more likely to follow the gaze of the actor in the first case because he has managed to establish a certain bond. But… what happens with dogs?
The results showed that after the greeting that involved eye contact and a high-pitched voice (ostensive communication), the dogs were also more likely to follow the actor’s gaze.
What does this mean?
It implies that, in some way, dogs are able to detect (mainly through eye contact and changes in voice tone) when we are addressing them. Therefore, they will react in a more positive way, establishing a much closer relationship.
In fact, it is not the first study to show that dogs are very sensitive to the direction of human gaze and that this has great referential importance, which is not strange since it is estimated that dogs have intelligence and abilities quite similar to those of a two or three year old child.
Therefore, the next time you talk to your dog, look him in the eyes and change the tone of your voice slightly. He will know that you are referring to him, although he will not be able to understand very well what you are saying.
Source:
Téglás, E. et. Al. (2012) Dogs’ Gaze Following Is Tuned to Human Communicative Signals. Current Biology ; 22(3): 209-212.
