Last Updated on March 18, 2024 by themubbi63
We’ve all heard about the soulful eyes of dogs or of cute puppy eyes. In fact, a lot of fuss is made about a dog’s eyes. It’s the fact that these furry companions often communicate with us with their eyes that makes them so remarkable. Unlike a lot of creatures, dogs don’t typically have problems making eye contact with their human eyes.
But on the other hand, there might be some dogs that have such looking human eyes that they completely freak people out. We just want our dogs to resemble us a little bit, not too much. So where do the human-like looks of some dogs come from? Well, studies seem to indicate that humans might be responsible for that as well.
Evolution of Dog’s Eyes
Have you Ever thought that the natural ancestors of dogs, wolves, don’t have particularly doleful eyes? In fact, a lot of wolves don’t have dark eyes at all and their eye color tends to be yellow. Most dogs, on the other hand, have dark eyes and humans seem to prefer dogs with dark eyes.
New studies seem to show that this change from sharp, piercing, yellow eyes to the soft, liquid, brown eyes came from the domestication of dogs. The dogs didn’t need to hunt at night anymore and had evolved into lazy couch potatoes. They didn’t need the sharp eyes of wolves.
Humans might also have had a hand in breeding out the lighter eyes. A behavioural scientist from Japan, Akitsugu Konno, has conducted some tests on a large group of Japanese volunteers. These tests showed that people perceived dogs with dark brown eyes to be less threatening or scary than dogs with light eyes.
Konno said that the darker the iris color, the more difficult it is to make out the size of the pupil. And we want our dogs to have big pupils because it makes them look more human and childlike. Smaller pupils make them look more wild and threatening. He theorized that dogs have evolved darker eyes over the centuries to make themselves look more appealing and less dangerous to us.
Yogi the Shihpoo: Dog With Human Eyes
Pictures of Yogi shared on the internet back in 2018 blew up and created a sensation all over social media for it’s like human eyes. In fact, people started comparing Yogi to actors like Paul Rudd and Jake Gyllenhaal and said that they looked identical. Side-by-side pictures of the two were actually uncanny.
So how exactly could a puppy who was a cross between a Shih Tzu and a Poodle look exactly like a middle aged man? No one knows. But Yogi definitely seems to have a lot of expression and intelligence in his eyes.
His owner, Chantal Desjardins, is from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She said she’d never really noticed the resemblance before the picture became so big on Reddit. She’d shared it on her Facebook page a while back but it had taken some time for the wider public to notice it.
Desjardins says she sees the resemblance now that it has been pointed up. A comment that said Yogi looked like Nicholas Cage dressed as an ewok struck her as very funny. There’s even been speculation that the pictures were doctored but Desjardins swears that Yogi naturally looks like that.
Moxie the Miniature Shnauzer
Another dog with human eyes that completely freaked people out was Moxie the Miniature Schnauzer. But unlike Yogi, this wasn’t just a benign resemblance to humans. In fact, Moxie has eyes that have been described as downright evil. It’s not a calm or composed-looking dog.
No, Moxie glares at you without blinking. And she’s got bushy eyebrows to add even more character to her expression. She looks rather like an angry old man really. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and seeing those eyes staring at you from a corner of the room. Distinctly creepy, right?
With piercing blue eyes, Moxie got millions of views on a video posted about her. Most commenters found her uncanny to look at or said that she had seen (and orchestrated) all kinds of horrors upon mankind. But one commenter called her sweet and said she just seems to want cuddles.
Mini Schnauzers often deal with cataracts from an unusually young age, which can only be fixed by surgery. Let’s hope that Moxie is well and healthy.
Rosie the Goldendoodle
Finally, there’s Rosie the goldendoodle with the very human eyes. She was featured on a Tiktok video last year, taken by her owner. The video racked up over 2 million views and everybody commented on Rosie’s human-like eyes. In fact, Rosie’s owner seems completely aware of the fact.
The owner cannot be seen on the video but can be heard. They’re asking about the eyes of other people’s dogs and the possibility that Rosie is a human trapped in the form of a dog. Rosie seems to be pointedly avoiding eye contact with the owner or the camera (another point to her ‘human-ness’).
Other goldendoodle owners commented that some of their dogs look similar and said it had something to do with the breed. Since dogs, just like humans, have upper and lower eyelids, the anatomy of their eyes isn’t that different.
Goldendoodles also have dark eyes, which also adds to the resemblance. But even the ones with light eyes can’t escape the charge of having human eyes. Maybe their eyes are just too soulful to the point that we have to wonder if they’ve got a human soul inside them.
Conclusion
Dogs with human-like eyes aren’t just internet sensations! Science shows humans may have influenced dog evolution, leading to those soulful brown eyes we find so appealing. Whether it’s Yogi’s uncanny resemblance or Rosie’s expressive gaze, one thing’s for sure: our furry companions continue to amaze us!
FAQs
Why do some dogs have human eyes?
Studies suggest humans played a role! Dogs evolved from wolves with yellow eyes. Through domestication, they developed dark, round eyes that humans found less threatening.
Are there famous dogs with like human eyes?
Yes! Yogi, a Shihpoo, went viral for his resemblance to actors like Paul Rudd. Rosie, a Goldendoodle, gained fame on TikTok for her soulful human eyes.
Can all dog breeds have looks like a human eyes?
Technically, no. Eye color and shape play a role. However, dark eyes and expressive looks can make any dog seem human-like to us.