Canine Body Language – The Eyes

They say the eyes are the window to the soul. We can learn a great deal about how a dog is feeling by looking at the eyes. Soft relaxed eyes and a relaxed body indicate a calm, happy dog. Hard eyes, hard stare are a threat. You can see worry in a dog’s eyes. Whale eye is when you can see the whites of a dog’s eye – this indicates worry and stress. Look at the relaxed, soft eyes, this is a happy, non-threatening dog.6017_537258812987877_2129564058_n

 

The dog above is relaxed and happy.  But, look at the eyes on this dog. His face is tense and  his mouth is closed. The hard stare on this dog is threatening and lets you know not to come any closer. He may not yet be growling, but it is likely to start if he is approached.  1002082_537260936320998_841935161_n

Whale eye (or half moon eye) is when you can see the whites of a dog’s eye – this indicates worry and stress.This is a very worried dog. Not only is he whale eyed, his eyes are bugging out. Noticed the worried frown as well.8693_537261246320967_418001381_n

You can see the whale eye on these dogs. Some are actually already threatening, others worried and stressed.999895_537260432987715_366708802_n

Such a cute puppy….. but, see the whale eye. He is telling us to move away from his toy. He is guarding his toy because he is afraid that someone will take it away and is is very valuable to him.  Don’t approach dogs who look like this when hunkered down with a toy or food.969968_537262202987538_1370777785_n

This dog is not enjoying the baby’s attention. Notice the whale eye and frown. No relaxed happy expression here. He may tolerate this for a while, but he is not happy.  I would move that baby away as soon as possible!1004035_537261679654257_1366711943_n