Oscar

Oscar is the latest in my portrait series focusing on dogs that are eligible for adoption at Austin Pets Alive! I have long been fascinated with canine eyes. Oscar's particularly beautiful eyes got me thinking about what has caused this fascination. Part of it, surely, is anthropomorphism. When I can see a dogs eyes clearly in a photograph, I suffer from that common affliction of dog lovers that leads me to see the dog as somehow partly human. There's more to it than that, though. From a training and behavior perspective, eye contact is certainly important. Trainers ask dogs for eye contact because it indicates that a trainer has the dogs attention. With attention, a trainer can then ask the dog to sit, or to go, or a variety of other things. Beyond that, dogs themselves communicate their eyes, both to each other and to humans. "Wall-eye," as dog folks often call it, can be an indicator that a dog is anxious or asking another animal to calm down or back off. Dogs can appear wide-eyed when they are overstimulated or on-edge. The examples go on and on. Ultimately, eyes are also just a thing of beauty and a signifier of uniqueness, and in that way, I think a comfort to the human animal. I'd love to hear you thoughts on canine eyes.