Eye contact plays a pivotal role in human–dog interactions, helping to initiate and maintain social bonds. Research published in October 2016 in PLoS ONE examined how different breed groups vary in their use of gaze toward humans, highlighting the influence of genetic lineage on communication.
The study tested 125 purebred dogs from five genetic breed groups: Ancient, Herding, Hunting, Retriever-Mastiff, and Working. Dogs were observed in two experimental conditions: the visual contact task, where they had the opportunity to engage directly with a human, and the unsolvable task, where a problem was presented that could not be solved without human help.
Results showed that Ancient breeds, which are genetically closer to wolves, took significantly longer to make eye contact and spent less time gazing at humans compared to other groups, especially in the unsolvable task. In contrast, breeds from groups shaped by more recent selective pressures for cooperation, such as Herding and Working dogs, showed stronger and more sustained gaze behaviors.
These findings suggest that spontaneous human-directed gaze is linked more closely to genetic distance from wolves than to recent functional breed selection. This supports the idea that domestication has been a key driver in the development of dogs’ capacity to engage with humans through eye contact.
Source: Konno, A., Romero, T., Inoue‐Murayama, M., Saito, A., & Hasegawa, T. (2016). Dog Breed Differences in Visual Communication with Humans. PLoS ONE, 11. Journal: PLoS ONE. Authors: Akitsugu Konno, Teresa Romero, Misato Inoue‐Murayama, Atsuko Saito, Toshikazu Hasegawa.
