Are you wondering, “why does my dog stare at me when I sleep?” Probably you’ve encountered your pooch staring at you, and either from your bed or from a dark corner when you wake up and feel a cold chill down your spine?
Assuming you have owned a dog for quite a time now, you might be used to their gesture. But if you have recently adopted a puppy or a grown-up dog.
You might find this behavior odd and quirky or even funny, and search for the possible reasons behind such action.
It’s primarily accepted that although dogs sleep for longer durations at night, they periodically wake up or move around briefly before settling back down. Some can be very restless too.
Likewise, as an alarming behavior, the dogs stare at their owner while sleeping out of affection or to show their love. We can also explain this as the dog wants to ensure that the owner is protected and secure before going to sleep.
And even a few owners have testified that they feel secure when their dog is around them or stares at them while sleeping. But that is not the case as humans share a profound bond with dogs and consider this factor.
It is undoubtedly the behavior we should understand, as it’ll help us create better bonding with our pups and dogs. To help you at this instance, we have come up with the most reliable solutions and answers for your queries about why your dog stares at you when you sleep.
Give the below-mentioned facts and factors a read to better understand what your canine wants to communicate with you. And how you should respond to their cute yet creepy gestures?
Contents
Understanding How Dogs Communicate Before Knowing Why your Dogs Stares at you When You Sleep
Before we dig into the details of why dogs stare at their owners when sleeping, let’s get to know more about the ways dogs used to communicate with their owners or with humans.
Over the past few decades of domestication, dogs have developed a wholehearted bond with humans. And they’ve also mastered the skill of interspecies communication, by which dogs try to communicate and express their emotions with their eyes and little gestures.
Your dogs’ eyes can be their most efficient tool to convey their emotions or needs to their owners. You might have witnessed your dog wide open his eyes when something joyous happens—or narrowing the muscles around his eye when something displeases him. These are the signs that many dog owners notice to predict their dog’s mood and what they want to communicate.
These muscles around the dog’s eyes are known as the palpable muscles under the control of the dog’s nervous system. And they control those eye muscles involuntarily to express the dog’s mood and how they feel.
Pupil dilation is also very common in dogs, and their pupils’ size is revolutionary in that they work along with the muscles around the eye to help dogs communicate their needs.
Combining all these moments of the eye muscles, pupil dilation, and the movement of their lips, and body positions, they communicate with the humans. This method is known as facial or non-verbal communication, along with their body language, will help you understand what your dog wants to say. But you cannot master this skill over a day or two, as you will require patience and focus on learning the canine language.
Potential Reasons For Dogs Staring At Their Owners While They’re Asleep
To be frank, it can confuse to identify why dogs stare at you when you’re sleeping, especially when you’re not well aware of your canine’s body language and will not get any manual to your dog’s behavior. But when you’re sharing a nice bond with your pup, it’ll not be challenging for you to read the dog’s body language.
So, after conducting excellent research and discussion with most dog owners, we have mentioned a few potential reasons for your canine to stare at you while sleeping.
After reading the below-mentioned details, you will stop worrying about this quirky behavior of your dog, as you will get adequate answers to your question, “why does my dog stare at me when I sleep?”
1. You Dog Loves you
Your dog staring at you while you’re asleep is how they show their affection and love for you. So, on condition, you enjoy quality time with your pup during the day and share an amazing bond. This can make your dog stare at you while sleeping out of love as they seek a reason to be around their human guardian.
2. Your Dog is Feeling Bored.
It is completely telltale that the love hormone oxytocin is released when people and canines share mutual staring. Thus, the mutual bonding between humans and dogs is completely science-backed.
And it can be the reason you might find them staring at you in the middle of the night, but don’t worry, it’s a harmless behavior with no bad intentions. They just love being around you, even if it’s just staring at you while you enjoy a peaceful sleep.
Another potential reason for your dog to stare at you in the middle of the night might be out of boredom. Dogs need constant attention and mental and physical stimuli to stay healthy and happy.
And if you’re not spending enough time with your puppy during the day. It might lead them to stare at you when sleeping, hoping for some engagement when you wake up.
But if you cannot give your pooch much time, avoid over-attaching them to you. This over-attachment can lead to separation anxiety when you do not get enough time to spend with your dog and be around your dog.
Also, this can lead to several behavioral problems when your dog is not getting enough attention from you, so if you give your dog proper time during the day, go for a walk, or play with your pup. You might not find them staring at you while sleeping after spending a good day with them.
3. Your Dog Need Protection.
The primary concern behind this habit of your dog staring at you while sleeping might be your protection. Domestic dogs have developed overly protective instincts. So, they might act as standing guards all night to make you feel protected from any potential danger.
You might have also heard the term that dogs are saviors of babies. When your babies are young, your dog will easily develop a profound connection with them. And they will ensure that babies remain safe by staying by their side the whole night and staring at them.
4. Your Dog Has Perceived Some Actual Threat.
Dogs have a unique ability to perceive danger. And they, mostly, are conscious of their surroundings and fast to detect any danger.
You might even have seen guard dogs trained to protect something valuable, like protecting a person or some property. In the same way, domestic dogs are also fast to sense some threat or unusual activities.
If you have recently noticed that your dog stares at you, and it hasn’t shown such behavior before, it can be a sign that your dog feels that you’re in some vulnerable condition, e.g., of health.
It can be some noise that your dog finds unusual, or they might have seen something. In such a scenario, your dog might keep staring at you to ensure that you stay protected from any possible threat. So, he might stare at you just to get a grip on what’s going on and if you’re okay.
5. Your Dog Feels Hungry.
Your dog is hungry and wants you to feed him is one of the most significant reasons for this odd and quirky behavior. The reason can be, you follow the same routine of feeding your pup early in the morning and in the evening.
So, in case you’re following this feeding routine for your pup, they might stare at you to see when you will be up and feeding them. As most dogs are persuasive, they’re willing to observe when you’re waking up, and hence your dog lays staring at you to feed them.
Also, if your dog is hungry enough, he might try to wake you up so that you can give him his morning meal. But if this happens often, reconsider the diet and your canine’s meals because the food he is getting might not be fulfilling his needs. And that’s why he gets hungry often and asks you to feed him by staring at you and waking you up.
6. The Dog can be Concerned about Change in your Sleeping Habits.
You might not be that good at reading the body language of your canine. But dogs are always good at feeling your emotions and reading yours. If you face some sleeping disorder or simply cannot sleep.
Your dog might watch you out of concern that you’re in pain. Also, when you’re awake in your bed not able to sleep, this might alter your dog’s senses to check on you. And to keep staring at you to ensure that you have a sound sleep.
7. Your Doggo Wan to Have Fun With You.
It’s one of the most common dog’s behavior to stare at the owner when they’re sleeping. And one significant reason behind why dogs stare is that they want to have fun if you’re used to walking and exercising with your dog.
And someday, you’re not feeling like doing it, and you sleep early. They might stare at you in such a scenario to encourage you to get up and play with them and follow that routine.
What Should You Do About Your Dog Staring at You While You Sleep?
Staring is a common behavior that dogs show, but a stare can have many meanings. As mentioned above, if you find your dog staring at you repeatedly, it might want something from you. Here, we’ve listed a few tips to follow if the persistent behavior of your dog staring at you keeps you worried.
Try to Understand your Pup’s Body Language.
You should try your best to read your canine’s body language and interpret its thoughts and what it wants from you. Also, if you’re not well-versed in this scenario, you can try all the points mentioned above one by one.
Feed your Dog.
Have you studied the reasons for your dog’s staring at you? You can reflect that your dog needs more. If it’s so, feed him and interpret his stare as if he’s hungry. Is that making sense?
Try to Undersatnd your Pup’s Body Language.
If the previously mentioned simple methods don’t work and your dog continues to stare, try another method. Give your dog some extra attention and play with him during the day by engaging him in various physical activities or enough exercise.
Try to Know the History of your Dog to Learn more about him
It has been common to observe strange behaviors like staring, aggression, or fear in rescue dogs. They have a troublesome history about them, which can cause them to act strangely with new parents. For instance, this heartbreaking story has got to tell you a lot about what it means when a dog stares.
So, when the strategies still don’t stop your dog from staring at you. Try some other interpretations unless it syncs with the thoughts and stares of your dog.
Can Dogs Staring at You Be a Sign of Some Serious Behavioral Problems?
Yes, when nothing helps, the problem can be with your dog’s mental health.
Well, you cannot consider this behavior of your pooch abnormal, as many pups do this to attain the attention of their owners and for several other reasons. But there can be some other reasons for this habit of your dog.
Obsessive Fixations Our four-legged friends can be a little weird sometimes. They can develop strange fixations on inanimate objects, locked with a gaze that might last hours.
This behavior usually isn’t a call for concern. But in severe cases, if not treated properly, it’ll morph into a severe compulsive disorder. It might be your sign to get medical help for your dog’s developing or already developed compulsive behavior.
The range of abnormal behavior can vary from excessive barking to staring at people while they’re asleep. Besides that, if your old dog has arthritis, he may have difficulty sleeping in a comfortable position. As a result, he may resort to sitting beside you on the bed. Last, some dogs suffering from hypothyroidism find it hard to fall asleep. They may find an alternative to sleeping at night: watching you sleep.
Why does my Dog Stare at me when I Sleep: Final Thoughts?
As long as you wonder about your dog, see a vet and see if he’ll be okay without proper medical help. The first thing you should do is give your puppy proper attention, love, and care. And try to build a trusting relationship with your four-legged buddy so that it gets easier for you to interpret his behaviors and the stares.
It’ll help you understand whether your canine is habitually staring at you or trying to communicate something with you through his gaze. And when you’re in a healthy relationship with your dog, you might understand the reason behind their gaze, and hence you will not have to get your dog to see any vet.
doglover.biz is a participant in the Amazon Associate program and will earn from qualifying purchases.
