Have you ever experienced having observed your dog suddenly wink at you? Do you wonder why exactly they do this and what this winking means? Are dogs winking a sign of some health-related issue you should be concerned about? If you are looking around to answer these exact questions, this article is the one you are looking for.
So, what does it mean when your dog winks at you? Your dog winking at you are possible signs of happiness or a sign of your dog being submissive. Or, it is also possible that your dogs are simply imitating your behavior. Winking can also mean that there are some underlying medical-related problems with your dog’s eye causing him to wink involuntarily due to the pain or lack of comfort.
There are a lot of things that can explain the winking behavior of your dogs. Given that winking could be dangerous, allow us to help you understand in more detail why exactly your dog wink at you, what it means, and how to know if it is time to get worried about your dog’s constant winking behavior.
What is a wink?
Before we get into the main topic at hand, let us first define and understand just exactly what a wink is. By doing so, we will have a better grasp of the problem at hand, and we can then be able to provide a proper response to the current situation.
So, winking is a facial expression where one’s other eye closes quickly for a short period before it opens back again. This is usually linked to affection, happiness, and other body-related languages. Depending on the culture and the country you are living in, a wink could mean differently.
So, aside from the different possibilities explained in this article, winking could also mean something that only dogs could understand altogether. After all, even to us humans, winking is acknowledged differently.
Why are your dogs winking at you?
Now, there are a lot of possible reasons as to why your precious canine partner is winking at you. After all, a wink can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. However, when a dog winks, it can be generalized into three various reasons — health problems, a sign of good intention, submission, or simply just a positive behavior.
Let us find out which of these apply to your winking dogs by checking out some of the most common reasons below regarding your dog’s winking behavior.
Health-related problems
On top of the list, we have health-related problems as one of the major causes of why your dogs are winking at you. They may not even be winking at you. It just so happened that you were looking at them at the right time.
Now winks can be associated with a lot of different health issues related to the eyes. It is usually a response mechanism for when something is inside your eyes. And this is true for your dogs as well. Your dog may be closing one of its eyes due to irritation.
Now, eye irritation is usually caused by an external factor such as dust, dirt, etc., getting in contact with your eyes and causing a reaction. It can also be caused by constant scratching and poking of the eye. Suppose this is the case with your dogs. In that case, they will continue to continuously blink the affected eye until it is no longer uncomfortable.
If your dogs have eye irritation or anything of the like, you will observe them rubbing their eyes on things or scratching them with their paws. And with the constant blinking and winking, you’ll know that something is wrong with your dog’s eye.
If you feel like your dog is getting very uncomfortable and is winking or blinking a lot, do not delay any further. Contact your veterinarian regarding what you should do to deal with the situation. They will most likely recommend you to visit the clinic as soon as possible so they can check your dog’s eye. Then, after the examination, your vet should be able to accurately provide a treatment that will help solve your dog’s eye problem.
Submission
Another possibility that could explain why your dogs are winking at you when you look at them is probably due to their submissive behavior.
Eye contact between dogs is usually regarded as a sign of dominance and aggression after all. If you notice, before a fight begins between dogs, there is a short time where they will be exchanging intense stares between each other before the action erupts. Unlike with humans, where eye contact is a sign of respect, it is the exact opposite for your dogs.
Now, what’s happening to your dogs is they are most likely trying their best not to start a fight with you. And because of this mindset, whenever your eyes meet, they tend to look away or give a quick wink or blink at you.
This means that they are treating you as the dominant one of their pack. So if your dog winks at you, it was probably done to break the stare and keep the peace between the both of you.
Seeking attention
Dogs are pretty intelligent. Once they notice that whenever they do a specific action or behavior, you tend to give them a lot of attention, they will keep doing that every time they want to play with you. After all, it is not easy for dogs to get your attention, especially when you are busy.
So if they get a reaction from you during that one time that they accidentally winked at you, chances are they will do that again. And they will keep doing so until you continue to show a reaction or give your attention while they are winking at you.
Copying your behavior
You are your dog’s role model. It may not seem that way, but your dog looks up to you in more ways than you can imagine. In fact, according to this scientific report published in 2017, Humans Affect Facial Expressions in Domestic Dogs, we humans have a way of influencing our dog’s facial expressions and behavior. This means that your dogs may be watching you more attentively than you think, resulting in him/her catching on some of your expressions.
This being said, it is not entirely impossible to conclude that your dogs may be trying to mimic or imitate that one time that you winked at them. So keep yourself in check and see if you have been winking a lot lately. Your dog may be learning new things from you without you even knowing about it.
What to do if your dogs are winking too much?
If your dog is winking too much, it could mean that they suffer from a lot of pain in their eyes. And if this is left untreated, it can result in a lot of complications for your dog, such as blindness and other eye-related problems.
Your dog may be suffering from a genetic condition known as entropion. Entropion is a condition where your dog’s eyelids are flipped inwards, irritating their eyeballs upon contact. Read more about this condition by checking out the article “Abnormal Eyelid in Dogs” by PetMD.
It is also possible that your dog is having a cherry eye that is why it is winking a lot. Cherry eye can be extremely painful for your dogs. However, worry not as this condition is prevalent among a lot of dogs.
As long as you provide it with proper treatment and care, your pups will surely recover in no time. Check out “Cherry Eye in Bulldog Puppies: Things to Know” to get a better idea of what you should do in a situation like this.
Whatever the cause may be, the best thing you can do if you observe your dogs winking excessively or having red eyes is to contact your vet right away. They should advise you regarding the next step that you should do for your precious canine partners. Do not delay having your dog’s eye problem treated as doing so may result in it getting worse.
Conclusion
There are undoubtedly many different things that your dogs do, which are just so cute and adorable. And one of these cute behaviors is winking.
But what does it mean when your dog winks at you? Well, it can mean a lot of different things. They may want to be playful with you. Or they may be trying to get your attention by winking at you.
It is also possible that they may be experiencing some irritations with their eyes resulting in all that excessive winking.
Whatever the reason may be, make sure to be attentive when your dog winks at you so that you can assess properly whether this is a concern or if this is something you should enjoy watching.
Dogs sure reveal their emotions by acting in a lot of different ways. So that wink can mean a lot of things. Please keep an open mind and try understanding your dog’s behavior by spending more time with it. Who knows, you might eventually get the reason behind why your furry partners are winking at you.
