Scientists have wondered which dogs people consider friendlier – light-eyed or brown-eyed.
At the same time, scientists noted that most wolves have bright yellow eyes, while almost all dogs have dark eyes.
Japanese zoologists from Teikyo and Showa Universities worked on this topic.
The friendliest
The experiment was relatively simple. People were shown photos of dark-eyed and light-eyed dogs.
As a result, it was found out that most domestic dogs have brown eyes.
Scientists attribute this to the effect of domestication. It is believed that dark-eyed dogs seem more defenseless and friendly.
But the light-eyed ones are reminiscent of the predatory canine relatives – wolves.
Research details
In total, images of 22 gray wolves were studied and compared with images of 81 domestic dogs (35 breeds).
The survey involved 76 people aged 18-38. Everyone was given a set of words to describe animals.
Dark-eyed animals were more often given comparisons such as calm, kind, sociable, insecure and non-aggressive.
However, eye color was not the main factor in a person's desire to take a dog home.
Earlier we talked about what cats are most afraid of .
