Introduction
The phrase “puppy dog eyes” refers to the soft, pleading eyes some dogs make when looking at their human companions. This facial expression is characterized by relaxed, wide eyes with the brow furrowed upward. The name evokes associations with the cute, innocent gaze of puppy dogs begging for affection or treats. The goal of this article is to understand the origins and meaning behind this common canine facial expression and why it elicits a response in humans.
Physical Description
Puppy dog eyes refer to a distinctive facial expression that dogs (and sometimes humans) make to appear endearing. The most identifiable attributes of puppy dog eyes include:
Head tilted slightly downward – Dogs will tip their head downwards and look upwards at a person or object of interest. This exposes more of the white part of their eyes and makes their eyes appear larger. It creates the impression that they are peering upwards innocently.
Brows lifted and drawn together – Dogs have a small muscle that allows them to raise their inner eyebrows upward and inward. This produces a sorrowful, imploring look on their face that humans tend to find cute and pitiable.
Wide eyes – The lifting of the inner eyebrows makes a dog’s eyes appear larger and rounder. Their eyes will open more widely than normal. This gives the eyes a childlike quality.
Overall, the body language of puppy dog eyes exaggerates traits like a puppy’s innocence and neediness. It triggers a caregiving response in humans.
Purpose
The “puppy dog eyes” expression is used by dogs as an appeal to get something they want from humans, like affection, forgiveness, or a treat. Researchers have found that dogs make their eyes appear larger, raise their eyebrows, and tilt their heads when they want something, triggering a nurturing response in humans. This wide-eyed innocent look makes dogs seem sad or in need of comforting, similar to how human babies instinctively open their eyes wider to indicate youth and vulnerability. It’s an expression that takes advantage of human’s natural tendency to want to care for things we perceive as cute, helpless, or in distress. So while it may look like a mournful plea, the puppy dog eyes are actually a canine manipulation tactic to get their human’s attention and elicit a desired response, like feeding time or playtime.
Evolutionary Origins
Scientific research has shown that dogs likely evolved their puppy dog eyes facial expression specifically to appeal to humans. Over thousands of years of domestication, dogs with exaggerated eyebrow muscles that allowed them to make the facial expression were more successful at bonding with humans and thus reproduced more. This led to an evolutionary selection pressure for dogs to develop more flexible eyebrows and facial muscles in order to make the puppy dog eye look.
According to a 2019 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, dogs have evolved a special eyebrow muscle that wolves lack, allowing them to make more dramatic eyebrow movements (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). This adaptation likely emerged because it triggered caregiving instincts in humans, helping dogs bond with their human owners and receive better care. The puppy dog eyes expression causes their eyebrows to raise and eyelids to peel back, mimicking a sad, infantile look that people are evolutionarily predisposed to respond to.
Researchers believe proto-dogs that were able to mimic that look got their humans to take better care of them. “As soon as dogs made eye contact with humans, they would produce this face and humans would be like, ‘Oh my god, it needs my help’,” said one of the study authors (National Geographic). Over thousands of generations, natural selection then favored dogs that were better able to flex their eyebrows and make dramatic facial expressions. This ultimately led to the evolution of the inner eyebrow raising muscle that facilitates the definitive “puppy dog eyes” look.
Human Response
The “puppy dog eyes” facial expression triggers a strong emotional response in humans. According to a CNN article, research shows that exposing humans to images of dogs making “puppy eyes” causes a spike in oxytocin, which is the “love hormone” associated with bonding and attachment. This reaction is thought to stem from an innate desire in humans to nurture and care for infants and young offspring who use similar facial expressions to signal their needs.
The eyebrows raised and eyes widened in the “puppy dog” look seem to tap into human’s instinctive urges to provide protection and affection. Even in adult dogs, this facial expression evokes feelings of sympathy, sentimentality, and the desire to comfort or indulge them. Humans have selectively bred dogs over generations to accentuate “puppy dog eyes” because it effectively influences human emotions and behavior in ways that benefit the dog.
Overall, the “puppy dog eyes” facial expression causes humans to feel more empathy, leniency, and compulsion to care for the dog making the face. It promotes social bonding, tolerance of minor misbehavior, willingness to share or provide resources, and general feelings of endearment toward the dog.
Use by Dogs
Dogs often make the “puppy dog eyes” expression when begging for food or treats from their owners. The wide eyes, eyebrows raised, and sorrowful look triggers a nurturing response in humans, making them more likely to give in and provide the desired food or treat [1]. Dogs will sit, stay, or do other trained behaviors, then make the “puppy dog eyes” in hopes of a reward. This look can be especially effective during mealtimes when the dog is hoping for a scrap from the table.
Young puppies are most prone to making the “puppy dog eyes” when begging because their facial musculature is still developing. Adult dogs retain the ability as well, especially breeds like Cavalier King Charles Spaniels that have large, expressive eyes. Scientifically, the look releases oxytocin in humans and makes them perceive the dog as cuter [2]. So when begging for a treat or food, dogs have learned to make their eyes as wide, brows lifted, and expression as pitiful as possible.
Use by Humans
Humans will often mimic “puppy dog eyes” as well, both consciously and unconsciously. Babies and young children will naturally make this facial expression when wanting affection or attention from caregivers. The wide eyes and raised brows trigger a nurturing response in adults. [1]
Adults may also purposely make “puppy dog eyes” when flirting or trying to persuade someone. It’s generally seen as an endearing, innocent facial expression associated with wanting approval or favor. Mimicking it makes the adult seem more childlike, likable, and nonthreatening. Using an expression that triggers caregiving instincts can help induce positive feelings in the viewer. [2]
Cross-species Communication
The “puppy dog eyes” facial expression is a remarkable example of nonverbal communication between different species. Research indicates that dogs have evolved their facial musculature to allow for more exaggerated eyebrow movements as a way to appeal to humans. According to a study published in Frontiers of Psychology, the eyebrow movements associated with “puppy dog eyes” do not actually correlate with stress or other emotional states in dogs. Rather, it appears to be an intentional facial expression used by dogs to communicate with humans.
There is evidence that dogs are especially skilled at reading human facial expressions and body language thanks to thousands of years of domestication. The “puppy dog eyes” look seems to take advantage of this cross-species communication ability by mimicking a sad, helpless infantile appearance that humans are evolutionarily predisposed to respond to with caregiving behaviors. Humans exhibit a nurturing response when seeing big eyes, a furrowed brow, and a tilted head – cues that remind us of human baby faces. Dogs appear to have learned how to exploit this instinctual reaction with their own “puppy dog eyes.”
Interestingly, dogs mainly produce this facial expression when interacting with humans, and only rarely when interacting with other dogs. It is clearly a specialized interspecies communicative signal. By perfecting the “puppy dog eyes” look over generations, dogs have developed an effective tool for enhancing their bond with humans and potentially gaining empathy, attention, treats, and other rewards.
In Popular Culture
The term “puppy dog eyes” is commonly used in popular culture to refer to a pleading, childlike facial expression typically exhibited by dogs. This look, characterized by wide, soulful eyes, often appears in movies, songs, art, and other media.
For example, in the film Marley & Me, the family’s rambunctious Labrador retriever Marley often makes puppy dog eyes when he wants something or is in trouble. His big, round eyes elicit forgiveness from his family. In Disney’s 101 Dalmatians, the puppies also display exaggerated, pleading eyes that melt the hearts of both humans and other dogs.
References to puppy dog eyes also appear frequently in music. In her song “Puppy Dog Eyes,” singer/songwriter Melanie Martinez pleads “don’t give me those puppy dog eyes” to a lover. Other songs like “Bambi Eyes” by Metronomy and “Puppy Eyes” by Netsky also use this phrase.
Artists sometimes draw dogs with big, dewy, pleading eyes to represent sadness, innocence, or manipulation. For example, the velvet painting “Sad Puppy Eyes” by artist Patricia Arambula features a forlorn dog making this characteristic facial expression.
Overall, “puppy dog eyes” is a common cultural reference conveying an exaggeratedly sweet, innocent, and pleading facial expression primarily associated with dogs and children.
Conclusion
In summary, the phenomenon of “puppy dog eyes” refers to dogs making direct eye contact with rounded eyes to appeal to humans for attention or assistance. It is an evolutionary adaptation that taps into humans’ innate nurturing response and forges an emotional bond between our two species. Though we often interpret it as cuteness, puppy dog eyes serve an important communicative function for dogs. By eliciting caretaking from humans, the trait improved domesticated dogs’ chances of survival and reproduction over time.
Today, this cross-species “language” remains a powerful tool. Skillful dogs learn to deploy puppy dog eyes strategically to get what they want. The look triggers our compulsion to nurture, while also signaling the dog’s innocence and dependence. We feel an innate urge to help and protect them. For dog owners, those pleading eyes are impossible to resist. They reinforce our deep attachment to these animals that have lived by our sides for millennia. Though originally an evolutionary tactic, for many the soulful gaze of puppy dog eyes has become emblematic of the enduring friendship between dogs and humans.