9 Eye Opening Reasons Why Your Whippet Stares At You

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Does your whippet sit and stare at you? It may feel like they are looking into your soul. Is there a specific reason for why a whippet stares at you? Or is something most whippets do?

Why Does Your Whippets Stare at You:

Whippets stare as a way to communicate with you and to let you know they want or need something. Other specific reasons for staring can be to understand you better, something’s bothering them, it makes them feel good, they’re curious, or they’re expressing affection.

In this post you’ll discover:

9 eye opening reasons why your whippet stares at you (#3 is most common)
Tips to get your reduce unwanted staring (#9 will help most with this)
How a whippets staring behavior develops
And much more

Let’s dive in…

Table of Contents

9 Eye Opening Reasons Why Your Whippet Stares At You

1) Your Whippet Is Communicating With You

When a dog stares at you it’s always partly them trying to communicate with you. They are basically telling you something with their eyes.

For example, if they need to go potty you might find your whippet sitting by the door staring at you.

Your whippet may do this when they are hungry or bored as well.

If you pay close attention to their body language or where they are located it’ll usually give you some idea of what they are telling you.

2) To Understand You Better

Your whippet might be analyzing you when they stare.

Dogs are very good at reading body language and picking up on our tone and moods. Over time they learn by watching you. Whippets are very good at this.

A study composed in 2015 determined that dogs were able to distinguish ‘happy eyes’ from ‘angry eyes’.

That means even just seeing your eyes is enough for a dog to know whether you are happy or not.

The fact that dogs were able to tell emotions from pictures of strangers, is pretty impressive.

Think about how much more they know about you and the details of your face.

If they can do that with a stranger’s face they can probably determine your mood based on tiny facial expressions you don’t even realize you have.

3) They Want Something

When your whippet stares at you, you can usually tell when they want something.

They might stare while you are laying on the couch because they want to play, or perhaps you have some food that they want.

Dogs may in some cases stare at owners in order to manipulate them into getting what they want.

This is usually how dogs are able to convince owners to give them a bit of food off the table.

If a dog stares for long enough, you may feel drawn to give them some food.

This is how bad habits are formed and dogs are masters at using their cuteness against us.

If you just ignore them staring eventually they will give up and go do something else.

Most people, for some reason, end up feeling guilty from the staring. Combine that with their puppy dog eyes and people cave.

The staring and begging can be avoided If only people waited for them to go lie down and stop begging before giving them anything.

This can be applied to any bad or unwanted behavior. If your dog is staring because they want your attention and you give it to them, you have reinforced this behavior.

Only give them what they want when they behave how you want them to behave.

4) Something Is Bothering Them

A whippet may stare in a way that is asking for help. If they are hurt or sick, they might stare hoping you can help them.

This can be more notable if they are also whining at you, being a little extra cuddly, and attention seeking.

You may also notice a decrease in activity level, and their eyes may have a glassy-eyed or unfocused stare.

Here are a couple of things to ask yourself when you may suspect your whippet is staring because something bothering them:

Are they acting like themselves? (you know them best, if something seems off, it probably is)
Are they eating their food?
Are they drinking water?
Can you get them excited like they normally are?
Are they lethargic and lacking energy?

If some things are off and you find your whippet is staring at you a little extra then usual get them checked by a vet.

5) It Makes Them Feel Good

Odds are you know what it’s like to stare at someone and just feel good. This happens when you stare at someone you really care for and admire.

Dogs have a similar emotional response when staring at their loved ones! The rush of happy emotions makes staring at you enjoyable.

In fact, there is a chemical called ‘oxytocin’ that is released when your dog and you look at eachother.

Oxytocin is also known as the “happiness hormone” that boosts the feeling of love and trust. This creates a bond between you and your dog when you stare at one another.

A study done in 2015 found this to be true and part of the reasons why dogs and people have grown so attached over time.

Fun fact: Dogs are actually the only animal that experiences this same effect when looking at their owner.

6) Possible Sign Of Aggression

It’s unlikely your dog is staring at you because of this reason, however, it was important to mention.

A dog may stare as a sign of aggression. If a dog locks eyes with a human, and is not blinking, the dog might be warning the human to back off.

Furthermore, when a dog locks eyes with another dog they may be trying to establish dominance or show aggression.

A good indication is to look at their body language combined with this staring.

A couple indications would be If the fur on their neck is standing up, they look rigid, are snarling or growling, and rapid tail movement.

7) Your Whippet Loves You

Staring is a good indication of a whippet’s affection for you. Just as we humans cannot help but stare and admire the people we love, it’s the same reason a dog can’t.

When a dog stares at you they may just be checking in and making sure you’re okay.

They might also just be admiring their favorite thing in the world…you!

Similar to dogs staring at you because it feels, if they love you a lot, the better it feels to stare.

As I already mentioned when a dog stares at you the chemical oxytocin is released, the more they love you, the more this chemical gets released.

Therefore, if they really really love you, staring might be one of their favorite things to do.

8) Confusion And Curiosity

Sometimes a whippet will stare at you because they are confused at what you are doing. Not only are they confused but they are curious about what you are up to.

If you have ever seen the classic ‘head tilt’ while they stare, it’s a good sign they are curious and perhaps confused.

These reactions of confusion and curiosity can come from a whippet hearing strange noises or seeing something interesting to them.

If you have ever tried to show your dog a video on your phone and they stare at it and tilt their head, then you know what I’m talking about.

Your whippet does the same thing when you are dancing around the house, or making weird noises, etc.

They are just staring at you because they are wondering “what’s going on”.

9) Staring Has Become A Trained Behavior

The last reason on our list of why whippets stare at you is because they have been trained too!

This is usually accidental and many don’t seem to mind it.

This occurs because it has been reinforced into your dog that when they stare, they get what they want.

If you are someone who doesn’t like this behavior or there’s certain moments you’d rather them not stare, you need to stop giving into them when they do.

The best way to eliminate bad behavior is to ignore it (so long as it’s not for an important reason) and reward them when they behave the way you want.