Why your dog stares at you when you defecate: 5 reasons
You’re out and about with your dog; he finds a spot, gets into position for poop, and … stares at you? Then you’re like many other dog owners. Some four-legged friends maintain eye contact with their two-legged friends while doing their business. But why do they do this?
It can seem strange and, in some ways, feel embarrassing when your dog stares at you while pooping. The reasons for this behavior while defecating can be many. However, it is not bad in any case, so you do not have to worry.
- dog stares out of expectation
It is possible that your dog stares at you while doing his business because he is expecting, or at least hoping for, a reward for pooping. Especially if, as a puppy, he always got a tip for defecating outside rather than inside, he may transfer that memory to every time he does business. Your dog remembers when he was housetrained and continues to wait for a treat for his accomplishment.
- dog expects your blessing
Another possibility for staring is that the dog expects a reaction from you about where he is going. The four-legged friend wants your blessing, so to speak, for the place he has chosen to defecate in. Have you scolded your dog in the past for selecting an inconvenient place to defecate? Then he wants to do better now and show it.
- staring for safety reasons
Another possible reason for staring while pooping: your dog’s instinct. Your four-legged friend is staring at you because he is checking to see if you guard him while he relieves himself. His ancestors, the wolves, must always be on guard in the wild. This security thought may explain his maintaining eye contact with you while in the crouched and rather a weak position of pooping.
- eye contact as a request for privacy
It may likewise be that your cold-blooded dog stares at you while defecating because he is asking for privacy in this way. A dog also sometimes appreciates this during relief. True to the motto, “I beg your pardon?!”
- it may be up to you
Have you ever checked to see if you might not be the initiator of eye contact? Maybe you are watching your dog so much during the dog walk that when he poops, he looks back because he thinks you have a request.
