Why Do Dogs Wink? 5 Shocking Reasons to Know!

Have you noticed your dog winking at you? So, you might be wondering why do dogs wink? What does this gesture mean?

All pet owners have developed their own voice commands and body movements to communicate with their dogs. Similarly, dogs communicate to their owners in certain ways including physical gestures.

So, if you are concerned why do dogs wink? It can be an interactive signal.

There can also be various other reasons behind your dog winking at you. Let’s figure out what does your dog wants to communicate with a wink!

Why Do Dogs Wink? What Does It Mean?

A wink can be considered as a friendly or a teasing gesture when we talk about humans. We usually wink to show fondness or while sharing a secret with someone in a gathering. We even use winking emojis to spark laughs in messages.

But, do dogs also wink for the same reasons?

1) What Is a Wink?

A wink is a facial gesture that includes the closing of one eye for a short interval of time while keeping the other eye open.

2) Dog Eye & Eyelid ABCs:

Like humans, dogs are born with two eyes which are not only similar in shape and design but also how they work. Let’s get to know about dog eye and eyelid basics;

• The Cornea is the external side of the eye which a dog can easily scratch with nails or hard objects like a couch.
• The Sclera is the white part of the eye.
• The Iris is the colored part of the eyeball. Iris is responsible for letting the light into the eye.
• The Pupil is the black circular section of the eyeball which dilates and contracts according to the need of the light. It dilates to get more light while contracts to get less light in.
• The lens lies behind the iris and helps the light go to the retina at the back of the eye.
• Retina has numerous photoreceptors which send the information to the brain through the optic nerve and make a clear and visible picture.
• Conjunctiva is a soft, damp, and pink tissue that surrounds the dog’s eyes and acts as a shield.
• Tear Ducts lie within the conjunctiva tissue. These ducts release tears on the eye surface to clean dirt and lubricate the eye.
• Tears of the dog contain various constituents including enzymes. These chemical enzymes guard the eye against getting bacteria and infections.
• Eyelids help to protect the eye from getting in the outside stuff and also lubricate the eye. Dogs have two eyelids; an upper eyelid and a lower eyelid.

Eyelids act as a wiper to clean the eyeballs with the natural tears the tear ducts produce.

The Merck Veterinary Manual presents a great picture of the structure of the dog’s eye.

You can also read our posts if you are wondering about dog lips and knees!

3) Why Do Dogs Wink at You?

When a dog blinks his eye, the upper and lower eyelids get in touch with one another and make a quick but complete eye shut.

Some dogs may have short eyelids so when they normally blink their eyes, you cannot notice a complete eye closure and it seems like your dog is winking at you.

In these cases, Vet’s prescribes eye drops or artificial tears to ease the blinking of the dog. However, there can be various other reasons your dog might be winking at you. Let’s talk about them!

A) Health Issues & Medical concerns:

Who does not like to see affection from their dogs? Those little winks off course seem cute but unfortunately, it might be a signal of a major health problem. A dog may be winking his eye due to irritation or itching in the eye.

• Irritation:

It can happen due to any outside thing like hair, dirt, or the surface cleaner you just sprayed on the floor. The irritation could also happen if any insect got into his eye.

Naturally, if something gets into the eye, we are likely to blink our eye more frequently or just keep it closed until the irritation is gone.

In case your dog is having irritation in the eye, you will not only observe him winking also he will be rubbing his eye with things like rugs or furniture. He could also be scraping the irritated eye.

• Entropion:

Another cause behind a dog’s wink can be a condition called entropion. Entropion is more commonly seen in brachycephalic dog breeds. These breeds have short smooshed faces and it includes Pugs, Boston terriers, and French bulldogs, etc.

In entropion, the upper or lower eyelid flips inward and rolls the tiny hairs around the eyelid into the eye. We can imagine how uncomfortable rubbing hair in the eye can be.

This is a major health concern. If you notice your dog is winking being uncomfortable or blinking his eye more often, you should contact your Vet for assistance. A Vet can give your dog instant relief and prevent further damage to your dog’s eye.

• Canine Blepharospasm:

Blepharospasm is involuntary twitching or blinking of eyelids. The muscle spasm around the eye causes this twitching.

Canine blepharospasm is the spasm of the canine’s eyelid. It is a rare condition but it can be one of several reasons behind eyelid twitching.

B) Submissive Behavior:

Dogs and humans do not use facial gestures in the same way. For example, dogs show dominance and aggression to each other by staring and maintaining eye contact.

Though humans make eye contact to engage the person they are talking to or just being respectful. But this does not mean that if your dog is staring at you, he wants a fight.

Most commonly, pet parents observe that when they stare back at their dogs, they either give a little wink or just look down or away. In this case, a dog winks to break the stare and to maintain amity.

This kind of behavior of a dog is called submissive behavior. Due to the pack instincts of dogs, they might be treating you as the dominant one.

C) To Seek Your Attention:

Dogs are big attention seekers. They are smart enough to remember their owner’s reaction to certain things.

If you have ever responded to your dog’s wink, he might like your reaction and remember that. Now, your dog may be intentionally winking at you to get more of the same reaction or attention from you.

D) To Show Happiness:

An angry dog never shows playful behaviors. However, a happy dog wants to play with his human family. Your dog could be winking his eye out of excitement and engagement during the play.

Professionals say that a happy dog is most likely to wink to his master. There can be other expressions of you that he observes while actively playing with you. So, the wink can be a happier response back to you.

E) Mimicking Your Actions:

Another possible reason why do dogs wink can be copycat behavior.

Research published in 2017 concluded that “Human attention affects facial expressions in domestic dogs”

Most of the dogs are smart and intelligent. They can imitate the things they observe. It is more common in domesticated dogs because they want to copy what they see.

You must have seen your dog wants to eat at the same time when you eat or sleep when you are sleeping. They even try to mimic physical gestures and facial expressions like yawning, sneezing, or winking, etc. 

4) What to Do If Your Dog Winks Too Much?

Some medical conditions that cause winking can be very painful and uncomfortable for a dog. If you notice your dog is winking excessively and feeling irritated, you must take him to a local veterinarian and ask what to do next.

These conditions can cause severe eye problems like blindness and other issues throughout your dog’s body if left untreated.

Final Thoughts:

It feels very heartwarming when our pet dog shows affection to us.  Those cute cuddles and little gestures like wink seem very joyous.

Dogs can tell you what they want or how they feel easily by physical gestures and their eyes can talk about all of their emotions.

There is not a specified reason behind why do dogs wink. There can be various reasons behind this winking expression. You must need to observe your dog’s behavior to identify the actual reason.

If you observe that the reason behind your dog is winking is due to irritation and he is experiencing pain and uneasiness, you must take him to a Vet for an expert checkup.