Are dogs stealing food right in front of your eyes?

We humans change our behavior when we are being watched. We tend to donate more money, less likely to litter, and reduce anti-social behavior in the presence of eye images. Also, we cut back our risky behavior if we are being watched. This is called ‘watching-eye’ effect.

However, in a research study, when dogs were presented with food in the presence of images of eyes, they did not slow down to grab the food. Although, dogs can understand the pictures of human faces and images of eyes, they cannot interpret the facial expressions from images.

So, by presenting the images of eyes or partial human face pictures will not prevent the dogs from stealing the food. However, dogs understand the social commands of the owner and appear to steal food at less rates when they are being watched but they do not to hesitate to steal in front of strangers.