Have you ever had the impression that your dog is critiquing you? You may not be the only one…
I’ve consistently sensed that my dog is somewhat judging me… like if I’m a few minutes tardy for dinner, or if it’s been excessively long since our last stroll (even if it was only an hour ago).
I would even catch her giving me her notorious side eye whenever I was awkward or made a mistake. Honestly, I used to believe it was merely my dog’s character, but then I stumbled upon videos online, and I was thrilled to find it’s not just me.
It turns out, there are numerous other dog owners with judgmental dogs just like mine — it’s amusing. Except when you’re the one on the receiving side… ahem.
Researchers in Japan and specialists examining canine behavior around humans have uncovered that our four-legged companions might be assessing their owners based on their capabilities. [1]
The Notorious Side Eye
The British talk show, Loose Women, featured a segment discussing the recent studies that confirmed dogs do assess their owners. Numerous creators seized this moment to share their experiences with examples from their own lives.
A Dachshund named Noodle became an internet phenomenon when a clip of his infamous side eye was shared on TikTok.
His owner captured the precise moment when the Loose Women segment referred to the latest findings, and then the camera gradually focused on him and his amusing response.
The caption reads: “Do you think someone in the room might have participated in the survey?”
The video has amassed over 10 million views and more than 2.2 million likes. Many viewers have shared comments and their own perspectives on the study:
“Oh, my dog absolutely does. I don’t require studies. She’s extremely judgmental, and I cherish her for it”, remarked the user, @aaliyshsmiles. “My dog critiques me every day”, noted the next @claudia_ac.
However, Noodle isn’t the only critical dog that the internet has encountered. A Bernese Mountain Dog named Weller is recognized for his quite judgmental gaze regarding his owner’s fashion selections.
It appears that Weller might have been a style icon in a past existence because he never commends his owner’s outfit.
With his distinctive up-and-down gaze and eyebrows that lend added scrutiny to his expression, Weller could be the monarch of the most judgmental stare ever recorded. Over 3.1 million individuals have viewed this video on TikTok thus far.
An In-Depth Examination of Research Findings
How precisely did they ascertain that dogs assess their owners?
Well, we humans form judgments based on either direct social encounters or gleaning information from interactions involving third parties. Regardless, it’s referred to as “social evaluation” [2], which is quite typical for us.
Dogs have been domesticated for a long period, and throughout the years, they have developed an impressive capacity to interpret human behavior and interact with humans. [3]
They observe various elements of our lives, enabling them to form judgments about us, but it remains unclear if they can assess human competence. This is what the researchers aimed to explore.
The scholars from Kyoto University in Japan carried out an investigation involving testing 74 dogs from various breeds, and they derived a conclusion indicating that dogs possess the ability to evaluate humans based on their competence.
They divided the human participants into two categories and presented them to the dogs:
- One was proficient at removing the lid to retrieve an object from a clear container (competent individual)
- The other was ineffective at this task (incompetent individual).
In the subsequent assessment, the dogs gravitated towards the competent individual more than the incompetent one when containers with food were introduced. Notably, female dogs exhibited a greater tendency to approach the individual who demonstrated superior competence in opening the container.
These findings illustrate that dogs can, in fact, discern varying levels of competence in humans and adjust their behavior accordingly.
Thus, if you ever feel like your dog is assessing you, there is a strong likelihood it’s not merely a sensation — it is the reality.
References:
[1] Chijiiwa, H., Horisaki, E., Hori, Y., Anderson, J. R., Fujita, K., & Kuroshima, H. (2022). Female dogs evaluate levels of competence in humans. Behavioural Processes, 203, 104753. DOI
[2] Abdai, J., & Miklósi, Á. (2016). The Origin of Social Evaluation, Social Eavesdropping, Reputation Formation, Image Scoring or What You Will. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. DOI
[3] Hare, B., & Tomasello, M. (2005). Human-like social skills in dogs? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(9), 439–444. DOI