Scientists have long known that dogs are highly attuned to human facial expressions. Previous studies have shown that dogs alter their behaviour when people look at them and can distinguish between different human emotions.
Now, researchers from the University of Parma have found that blinking may also carry social significance.
Testing the role of blinking
The study examined 35 dogs of various breeds using video recordings.
Each dog watched two 40-second videos featuring three people shown one after another: their owner and two strangers.
In one set of videos, the people blinked regularly every few seconds. In the other, they looked straight ahead without blinking.
Researchers found that dogs blinked more often when the people on screen blinked than when they maintained a fixed gaze.
Owners mattered more than strangers
The effect was strongest when dogs watched their own owners.
Dogs increased their blinking rate when viewing videos of their owners blinking, but researchers did not observe the same response when the blinking came from unfamiliar people.
The findings suggest that the social importance of the person involved influences how dogs react.
More than an automatic reflex?
Blinking is primarily a natural mechanism that protects and moistens the eyes, but researchers believe it may also have developed a social function.
The study's authors stressed that the results do not mean dogs are intentionally using blinking to send messages.
Instead, blinking may provide subtle feedback about attention, engagement or social connection during interactions with people who are important to them.
No fixed meaning
Researchers cautioned owners against reading too much into individual blinks.
The study does not suggest that every blink carries a specific message. Rather, it indicates that dogs' blinking behaviour can be influenced by their social surroundings and by the people they are interacting with.
Other experts welcomed the findings, saying they add to growing evidence that dogs are remarkably sensitive to even very subtle human facial signals.
The researchers hope future studies will also explore whether people unconsciously adjust their own blinking patterns when interacting with their dogs.
Source: The Guardian
