Look him in the eyes

For all dog owners who have difficulty understanding their dogs should be delighted by this new research of scientists published in online journal Current Biology. Humans and dogs share some social skills, with dogs' social-cognitive functioning resembling that of a six-month to two-year-old child in many respects.And dogs are more likely to listen if owners look them in eye.

József Topál, of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences explained that  "The utilisation of ostensive cues is one of these features: dogs, as well as human infants, are sensitive to cues that signal communicative intent."

Doctor Topál's team presented dogs with video recordings of a person turning toward one of two identical plastic pots while an eye tracker captured information on the dogs' reactions. In one condition, the person first looked straight at the dog, addressing it in a high-pitched voice with "Hi dog!" In the second condition, the person gave only a low-pitched "Hi dog" while avoiding eye contact.

The researchers found that the dogs were more likely to follow along and look at the pot when the person first expressed an intention to communicate.