Can’t resist PUPPY DOG EYES?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Meet Zsófia Bognár and team at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary. They gave over ONE HUNDRED dogs a piece of sausage. And even MORE sausage if they looked at the tester! The researchers compared the speed of eye contact with traits like head shape, playfulness, and age.
Results? The best LOOKERS were young or really playful dogs. BUT, surprisingly, head shape mattered too! Dogs with short heads, like pugs, were quicker to look in the researcher’s eyes.
Bognár believes this might be because we find those round faces and big eyes “cute”. Cute faces attract more attention from humans, encouraging those dogs to use their puppy eyes!
Ok, gotta go… Fido needs…big eyes! Eat my shoes, bon appetit!
Reference:Bognár, Z., Szabó, D., Deés, A. et al. Shorter headed dogs, visually cooperative breeds, younger and playful dogs form eye contact faster with an unfamiliar human. Sci Rep 11, 9293 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88702-w