{"id":104692,"date":"2023-09-07T19:51:24","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T23:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topdogtips.com\/?p=104692"},"modified":"2023-09-07T20:42:55","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T00:42:55","slug":"why-do-dogs-wink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topdogtips.com\/why-do-dogs-wink\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do Dogs Wink? Or Do They?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

T<\/span>o us, humans, winking packs a lot of emotions when we do it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are so many meanings behind the act of closing our eyelids.<\/p>\n

We could be either flirtatious, mysterious, trusting, or teasing when we wink.<\/p>\n

Heck, we can be all in that one gesture! Who knows?<\/p>\n

But what about our dog? Why do dogs wink?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not aware, yes, dogs can wink too.<\/em><\/p>\n

I know! I couldn\u2019t believe it myself too!<\/p>\n

Seeing my dog wink for the first time was surprising, yet I was amazed by it.<\/p>\n

I also became curious about it.<\/p>\n

And so, I ask: why did my dog wink at me?<\/em><\/p>\n

Now, I have the answers to that, and I want to share them all with you!<\/p>\n

For this blog, I\u2019m here to explain why dogs wink<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Sometimes we also misinterpret their winks, so we\u2019ll discuss what that could be instead and what it means.<\/p>\n

Do you want to train your dog to wink?<\/p>\n

Well, stick around because, at the end of the blog, you'll learn how to train them.<\/p>\n

Now, without further ado, let\u2019s start!<\/p>\n

\"why<\/p>\n

Why Do Dogs Wink?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As Megan Conrad, DVM<\/a>, points out:<\/p>\n

Winking is often an intentional behavior with various meanings.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Out of all the possible dog body language<\/a>, winking is a gesture that we least expect from them.<\/p>\n

One reason is that dogs have adapted to wink less<\/strong> and use other gestures more as their body language.<\/p>\n

Dogs would bark, flinch, snarl, or bow rather than make a wink.<\/p>\n

It's rare for dogs to wink, but when they do, it should have a meaning, right?<\/p>\n

So why do dogs wink? What does it mean when a dog winks at you?<\/em><\/p>\n

Dogs wink either because that's their way to get attention from you or that's a mimicked behavior from you.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dive deeper into these two reasons below.<\/p>\n

They Mimicked Your Winking<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Do you often wink at your dog until one day, you see it wink at you, too?<\/p>\n

Woah, what gives? Did your dog just copy you?<\/em><\/p>\n

It turns out, it just did!<\/p>\n

And this is no coincidence either, as science can back this phenomenon.<\/p>\n

Results from a 2010 study show that dogs tend to mimic or imitate their owners.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Similarly, researchers at Michigan State University<\/a> conducted a study in 2019 to know if owners help shape their dogs\u2019 personalities.<\/p>\n

In the study, lead author and researcher William Chopik, PhD.<\/a>, noted that:<\/p>\n

When humans go through big life changes, their personality traits can change. We found that this also happens with dogs \u2014 and to a surprisingly large degree.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Both research points to your dog's ability to mimic your traits and gestures.<\/p>\n

And if your dog can copy any of your behavior, then it can easily mimic your winking habits too!<\/p>\n

But why Dan? Why does my dog wink at me?<\/em><\/p>\n

Well, it could be that your dog simply wants to bond with you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gregory Bern PhD.<\/a>, at Emory University, conducted a study<\/a> to learn what happens in the dog\u2019s brain during human interaction.<\/p>\n

Through MRI scans, his team found out that a dog\u2019s reward center becomes active when the subject is all about its owner.<\/p>\n

What this means for your pooch is that by mimicking the behavior of winking, they\u2019ve found a way to bond with you.<\/p>\n

Most probably, your dog will remember you whenever it winks!<\/p>\n

Winking Gets Your Attention<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Here\u2019s a question for you: How do you respond when your dog winks at you?<\/p>\n

In my case, I would hug my dog and get cuddly with it.<\/p>\n

I mean, what\u2019s not to adore with your dog\u2019s irresistible charm when they wink, right?<\/p>\n

Like me, a lot of dog owners couldn\u2019t resist the cuteness of their pups and would just pamper them so much.<\/p>\n

But, unbeknownst to us, our pampers encourage them to keep on doing that.<\/p>\n

This aligns with positive reinforcement training, where we use rewards to get our dogs to do and repeat the desired behavior.<\/p>\n

So the pats, cuddles, and praises we give after they wink are like breadcrumbs of rewards telling them to wink whenever they want attention from us.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0How to Teach a Dog to Sit with Positive Reinforcement<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"why<\/p>\n

Is My Dog Really Winking at Me?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Have you ever stopped at your winking dog and asked, \u201cIs my dog really winking at me?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It could be that we misinterpreted our dog\u2019s wink for something else.<\/p>\n

For example, we easily mistake winking for blinking.<\/p>\n

While winking is slower and usually intentional, blinking is almost instantaneous and involuntary.<\/p>\n

Both gestures are entirely different from the twitching of the eyes, where the gesture seems uncomfortable and unnatural.<\/p>\n

Seeing your dog wink is cute and all. But if your dog is repeatedly and unnaturally \u201cwinking\u201d with the same eye, it might not be a wink at all.<\/p>\n

What Your Dog's Wink Could Mean<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Well, if that wasn\u2019t a wink then what could it possibly be?<\/em><\/p>\n

From a medical perspective, veterinarians like Dr. Conrad are looking at eye problems that need addressing.<\/p>\n

Perhaps your dog\u2019s eyes are in pain, irritated, or sensitive to light that it chose to blink its eyes or even shut them.<\/p>\n

Some of the possible medical conditions that would explain your dog\u2019s winking behavior are:<\/p>\n