# Stupid question: anyone else's dog ALWAYS give them 'whale eye'?



## Silvestris (Sep 5, 2017)

Whale eye in the dog definition of turning their eyeballs so you can see the whites of their eyes.

I've never heard this before but apparently dogs tend to do it when they are stressed or anxious. Among other reasons. I am asking because I have not noticed this behavior in any of my dogs before Ellie. I think most of the time she's just too lazy to turn her head and look at something but holy cow, when I first got her I thought she was either the sassiest or most anxious dog I have ever met. Just *constant* side-eye. Curious if anyone else has noticed their dogs doing this often.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Yes, but my dog is severely anxious.

Whale eyes by itself cannot tell if your dog is anxious. You don’t need that to know if they are or not. General behavior will tell, even if you don’t even see the whole head.

What makes you think your dog is anxious, besides that ?


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## Silvestris (Sep 5, 2017)

Dechi said:


> Yes, but my dog is severely anxious.
> 
> Whale eyes by itself cannot tell if your dog is anxious. You don’t need that to know if they are or not. General behavior will tell, even if you don’t even see the whole head.
> 
> What makes you think your dog is anxious, besides that ?


Thankfully it doesn't seem to be the case that she is anxious (no excessive licking, afraid body posture, excessive barking, etc) but that is what I thought when I first got her. Mind you, she was more subdued and hesitant for the first few weeks so that, plus the whale eyes made me think I had an anxious dog. What are the other signs you have noticed in your anxious dog?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Well, my read on that picture is not the happiest dog in the world since I see "whale eye" and lip licking. I would probably attribute a little stress there to the happy birthday tiara though.

I only get the stink eye when there is real stress going on, but I usually have seen it coming because of other stress behaviors like: lip licking, yawning, sneezing, distracted or avoidance behaviors and seeking attention from other people.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

I don't consider that whale eye. I'll post a pic when I can find one of Maizie doing a whale eye. Particolor dogs tend to show more white in their eye, as do pinto horses just naturally. 

Signs of stress I do notice in your dog are the low tail set and lip/nose licking, probably from wearing the tiara and having her picture taken?


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Here's Maizie giving whale eye due to over-loving by these children (I rescued her after the pic was taken, don't worry .


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Silvestris said:


> Thankfully it doesn't seem to be the case that she is anxious (no excessive licking, afraid body posture, excessive barking, etc) but that is what I thought when I first got her. Mind you, she was more subdued and hesitant for the first few weeks so that, plus the whale eyes made me think I had an anxious dog. What are the other signs you have noticed in your anxious dog?


His signs are : incessant pacing, avoiding contact, one paw up, looking left and right repeatedly, cowarding, biting, separation anxiety, peeing, hunched back, extremely stiff body, open mouth, coming very hesitantly when called, ect. Probably more but can’t remember them all. He doesn’t lick his lips.

Oh, and whale eyes, lol !


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## Silvestris (Sep 5, 2017)

Thanks everyone for the advice but I am afraid this was just a funny thing I sometimes noticed with her. That picture was just thrown in to show what I thought was whale eye but, as several people have pointed out, she might have actually been a little anxious during that photo. It was her second birthday and her dad wanted a photo, so she had to put up with the crown for about 30 seconds. And the licking was because I was enticing her to look at the camera with a sausage that I was holding over my head, haha. But thank you everyone for the concern


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