Dogs May Use Blinking as a 'Subtle Affiliative Signal' to Communicate with Owners, Study Suggests

Dogs may be attempting to communicate affection or deepen their social connection with humans through blinking, according to a recent study. Scientists have observed that a dog's blink rate can increase when they see their owner blinking, suggesting this behavior acts as a subtle signal of affiliation.

Researchers at the University of Parma in Italy conducted a study involving 35 dogs. They presented the dogs with videos of humans either blinking or staring directly at the camera. When the dogs watched footage of people staring, their blink rate remained largely unchanged. However, when they viewed videos of their owners blinking, their blink rate significantly increased.

Interestingly, the study found that this effect was more pronounced when the owner in the video was a woman. The authors theorize that this might reflect the greater level of social engagement and attention dogs typically have with their owners compared to strangers. The study does not claim that dogs are deliberately conveying specific messages with each blink, but rather that the social context can influence this seemingly automatic behavior.

Dr. Chiara Canori, the lead author, noted that while blinking is primarily a physiological action to protect the eye, it may have acquired social relevance. "There may be a much richer layer of communication in these small, overlooked changes in behaviour, and learning to recognise and acknowledge them could help us better understand our dogs," she told the Daily Mail.

The findings suggest that the bond between dogs and humans extends beyond obvious cues like vocalizations or gestures, incorporating more nuanced behavioral exchanges. Previous research has established that dogs can discern human emotions from facial expressions and can even detect human stress through scent.

Blinking also serves a social function in other animals. For instance, cats often return slow blinks from their owners as a sign of affection and are more inclined to approach individuals who blink at them first. The study on dogs highlights that their responses are not merely triggered by seeing human faces or movements but can be influenced by the social significance of the person they are observing.

Genetic analysis indicates that dogs were domesticated in Eurasia between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago. This domestication process is thought to have been gradual, with early wolves living near human settlements and becoming tamer over generations, eventually forming a symbiotic relationship with humans that led to the evolution of modern dogs.